THE MANDAEANS, A PEOPLE OF THE BOOK?

AN EXAMINATION OF THE
INFLUENCE OF ISLAM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANDAEAN LITERATURE
Jennifer Hart
Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy
in the Department of Religious Studies
Indiana University
September, 2010

UMI Number: 3432111

All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.

UMI 3432111
Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

ProQuest LLC
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346

Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Doctoral Committee

______________________________
Jamsheed Choksy

______________________________
David Brakke

______________________________
J. Albert Harrill

______________________________
R. Kevin Jaques

August 19, 2010

ii

2010
Jennifer Hart
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

iii

Acknowledgments:
Thank you to my parents, Patricia and Richard Hart, and my sisters, Catherine and Beth,
for all your love and support. Thank you also to Jamsheed Choksy, David Brakke, Bert
Harrill, and Kevin Jaques. I would also like to acknowledge Jorunn Buckley and the
Mandaean community.

iv

Jennifer Hart
THE MANDAEANS, A PEOPLE OF THE BOOK? AN EXAMINATION OF THE
INFLUENCE OF ISLAM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANDAEAN LITERATURE
This project explores the development of Mandaean religion in relation to Islam. The
project unfolds in two stages. In the first part I demonstrate that the conditions at the
close of late antiquity were conducive to exchange between Mandaeism and nascent
Islam. I also argue that there is evidence to suggest that Mandaean literature was one
locus in which the interaction between the Mandaeans and Muslims was manifest. In the
second part of the project I examine how two figures from Mandaean literature, Miriai
and Yahia, exhibit characteristics or themes that parallel elements of Islam. Miriais
function as a paradigm of Mandaean piety is illuminated by comparison with similar
roles assigned to Miriam and Fatimah by Muslim tradition. I also show that Mandaean
depictions of Miriai result in an understanding of Judaism that when compared to early
Muslim conceptions of Judaism reveals an effort by the Mandaeans to solidify a specific
religious identity for their faith. The analysis of Yahia shows that the Mandaean images
of him evoke parallels with Muslim expectations of prophethood, both in a general sense
and with Muhammad in particular. Casting Yahia in the role of Mandaean prophet
maybe the manifestation of an attempt by the Mandaeans to claim for Mandaeism the
status of a legitimate religion according to the standards of Islam. Both Miriai and Yahia
offer examples of instances in which Mandaean literature and Mandaean religion were
influenced by exposure to Islam.

Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction1
Chapter Two: Means, Motive and Opportunity: Arguing for the
Intersection of Mandaeism and Islam28
Chapter Three: Making a Case for a Connection between Islam and
Mandaean Literature71
Chapter Four: Miriai: A Character Study123
Chapter Five: Creating the Other: Miriai and the Jews.......166
Chapter Six: Yahia: A Mandaean Prophet205
Chapter Seven: Making Yahia a Rasul.......251
Chapter Eight: Conclusion283
Bibliography289

vi

Chapter 1
Introduction
Who are the Mandaeans? This is the inevitable question that arises whenever the
topic of Mandaeism is broached. Even among those engaged in Mandaean studies
inquiry after the identity of the Mandaeans presents itself as the perennial question within
the field. We are constantly being asked and asking: who are the Mandaeans, with the
implicit corollary: why should we care? Following in the tradition of Richard
Reitzenstein, Mark Lidzbarski, Rudolf Mauch, Kurt Rudolph, Lady Ethel S. Drower and
more recently Jorunn Buckley this project is inspired by the dual questions: who are the
Mandaeans and why do they matter?1 My goal is to attempt to clarify the identity of the
Mandaeans and make a case for the relevance of their study to the larger field of
Religious studies.
The impetus for asking and trying to answer the who and the who cares with
regard to Mandaeism yet again lies with the fact that though thorough and often
informative studies of the Mandaeans already exist the approach taken towards
understanding the Mandaeans tends to picture them as prototypes, derivatives, or
variations on Judaism, Christianity or Gnosticism.2 These reductive classifications have
troubling implications for the future Mandaean studies because while they are borne out
of sincere efforts to address the who and why of Mandaeism they have the paradoxical

See Jorunn Buckley, The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2002); Lady E.S. Drower, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran ( Leiden Brill, 1937); Rudolf Mauch,
Anfange der Mander in Die Araber in der alten Welt. ed. Franz Altheim and Ruth Stiehl (Berlin: de
Gruyter, 1965), 2:76-190; Rudolf Mauch, Zur Sprache und Literatur de Mander in Studia Mandaica 1
(Berlin: de Gruyter, 1976); Kurt Rudolph, Die Mander vol. 1: Prolegomena: Das Manderproblem; vol.
2, Der Kult (Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1960-61).
2
Drower is the exception to this. Her work tends to be primarily ethnographic accounts of the Mandaeans
living in colonial Iraq and Iran

effect of directing us down paths guaranteed to obscure rather than illuminate the
complexities of Mandaean religious identity. The traditional approaches to Mandaean
studies falter in that they creates the impression that interest in the Mandaeans is useful
only insofar as it regarded as a corollary subject investigated for the purposes of
expanding our knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, or Gnosticism. The approaches that
cast Mandaean studies as a secondary aspect of Jewish, Christian, or Gnostic studies tend
to undermine appreciation for the autonomy of Mandaeism as a religious tradition unto
itself and deny the value of studying Mandaean religion as a distinct entity within the
scope of Religious studies. Casting the Mandaeans primarily as a window into the
particularities of these other traditions is a concern not only because it shifts the focus of
Mandaean studies away from the Mandaeans, creating a situation in which studies about
Mandaeism end up commenting more upon the identity of the Jews, Christians, or
Gnostics than they do about the Mandaeans, but also because it threatens to stagnate
Mandaean studies, making it a field of inquiry that is applicable only as a secondary
aspect of the study of other traditions rather than realizing the potential of Mandaean
studies as an area of research in its own right.
Mindful of the shortcomings of the previous approaches to Mandaean studies I
propose a new direction, a new perspective for thinking about the nature of Mandaean
religion. I argue that Islam must be introduced to the comparative study of Mandaeism.
There are many reasons to regard Islam as legitimate and significantly influential factor
in the development of Mandaean religion. Firstly, although the comparative approach
has sometimes resulted in the subordination of Mandaeism as a distinctive tradition this is
not necessarily of the result of all comparative studies. Secondly, exploring the parallels

between Mandaeism and Islam proves an important corrective to the assumption that
Mandaeism is simply a derivative of Judaism, Christianity, or Gnosticism. Including
Islam in the discussions about the nature and development of Mandaean religion enables
us to reorient the study of Mandaeism toward fuller appreciation of the tradition in its
own right. To study Mandaeism as an independent religion rather than a secondary
aspect of a major tradition will greatly advance the field of Mandaean studies. Finally,
a study of Mandaeism which includes a comparison with Islam addresses issues related to
the challenges of cultural change and religious pluralism. Studied in this way, knowledge
about Mandaeism becomes a useful means for participating in and contributing to topics
that impact the field of religious studies as a whole. Comparison with Islam offers an
opportunity to advance our understanding of both who the Mandaeans are and why they
matter?

Mandaean Studies So Far

Before furthering the case for the merger of Mandaean and Islamic studies it is
necessary to address in greater detail the aspects of Mandaean studies, as it currently
stands, which ought to be revised. The prospect of a new direction in Mandaean studies
is needed because of the threat of stagnation, and worse yet irrelevance, which plague its
present path. Perhaps not surprisingly given its links to early Christian studies, much of
Mandaean studies tend to be overwhelmed by the concern for concentrating on origins as
a means for defining, explaining, and understanding Mandaeism.3 J.Z. Smiths critiques

Most of the earliest interest in Mandaeism is directly connected to issues in the study of early Christianity.
For example see: Rudolf Bultmann, Die Bedeutung der neuerschlossen mandschen Quellen fr das
Verstndnis des Johannesevangeliums. Zeitschrift fr die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 24 (1925): 100-

of the problematic and the scholarly suspect approach of relying on a dissection of origins
as a means for gaining insight into a religious tradition apply to the current state of
Mandaean scholarship.4 Using Smith as a starting point and questioning the revelatory
capacity of origins to the study of Mandaeism, the best way to demonstrate why the field
of Mandaean studies needs to reorient its approach is to show how a few examples of
otherwise excellent scholarship on Mandaeism ultimately falters when trying to address
questions about the nature of Mandaeisms religious identity because these studies get
mired in intractable issues of Mandaean origins. By briefly reviewing the research of
early scholars of Mandaeism like Rudolf Bultmann and Richard Reitzenstein, along with
the more recent work of Kurt Rudolph and Jorunn Buckley, all of whom are instrumental
to the creation of Mandaean studies, we can see where the field has been but also where it
now needs to go.

Rudolf Bultmann, Richard Reitzenstein, and the Mandaean Question

Much of the early modern academic interest in Mandaeism was predicated on
what was known as the Mandaean Question. Bultmann and Reitzenstein are two
among a series of scholars who wrote on the topic of the Mandaean Question, the basic
premise of which was the belief that the study of Mandaean literature held the key to
explaining the origins of Christianity.5 Bultmann, Reitzenstein, and their contemporaries
believed Mandaeism represented a proto-Christianity and that through study of the

146; Richard Reitzenstein, Das mandische Buch des Herrn der Grosse und die Evangelienberlieferung
(Heidelberg: Sitzungsberichte der Heidleberg Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1919).
4
See J.Z. Smith, Drudgery Divine (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990).
55
Other scholars engaged with the Mandaean Question include: Wilhelm Brandt, Wilhelm Bousset,
Mark Lidzbarski, Rudolf Mauch, Kurt Rudolph, Hans Heinrich Schaeder, and Geo Widengren. See Geo
Widengren, ed. Der Mandaismus (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1982).

Mandaeans the more enigmatic aspects of the New Testament would be illuminated.
Reitzenstein maintained that the gospels were partially dependent on Mandaean thought
and that the gospel in John in particular was a polemic directed against the early
Mandaeans.6 Bultmann also believed there was a special relationship between the
composition of the fourth gospel and the Mandaeans, however he tend toward the belief
that is the cooption of Mandaean ideas rather than their repudiation that inspired the
gospel of John. He argued that the esoteric language of the gospel of John was derived
from Mandaean theology and that an examination of Mandaean texts would allow for a
fuller appreciation of the referents in the gospel.7
As research on the origins of the New Testament and Mandaean literature
progressed it eventually became clear that the thesis which posited the Mandaeans as a
source of Christian origins was untenable. The Mandaean texts were shown to postdate
the initial formation of Christianity and corollaries with Christian material in the
Mandaean writings appeared to have flown from Christian sources to Mandaeism rather
than the other way around. Mandaeism ceased to be a viable source for explaining
Christian origins and when this happened interest in Mandaean studies dropped
precipitously. The dismissal of Mandaeism from discussions of Christian origins almost
spelled the dissolution of Mandaean studies as a whole. The association of Mandaean
studies with the quest for the origins of Christianity led research on the Mandaeans down
a dead end and threatened to relegate the field to irrelevant obscurity. So while the
question of origins in the context of the early interest in Mandaeism does not strictly fall

Richard Reitzenstein, Das manderliche Buch des Herrn der Grosse und die Evangelienberlieferung.
(Heidelberg: Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberg Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1919).
7
Rudolf, Bultmann, Die Bedeutng der neuerschlossen mandschen Quellen fr das Verstndnis des
Johannesevangelium, Zeitschrift fr die neuertestamentliche Wissenschaft 24 (1925): 100-146

prey to the critiques leveled by Smith, the very association of Mandaean studies with the
issue of the origins of a religion did prove especially problematic for Mandaean studies
and there can be no question that the path of inquiry taken by Reitzenstein and Bultmann
needs to be abandoned if Mandaean studies is to have any hope of progressing.

Kurt Rudolph
Kurt Rudolph is arguably the biggest name in Mandaean studies. He authored not
one, but two exhaustive tomes on Mandaean theology and practice: Die Mander. Vol. 1:
Prolegomena: Das Manderproblem and Die Mander Vol. 2: Der Kult, respectively,
which are the core texts of Mandaean studies. Without these and the many other works
penned by Rudolph about the Mandaeans our knowledge of Mandaeism would amount to
little more than a fraction of its current state. The significance of Rudolphs
contributions to the study of the Mandaeans cannot be overstated. At the same time, the
all encompassing nature of Rudolphs approach to researching the Mandaeans means that
there are some parts of his scholarship that are stronger than others. The question of
Mandaean origins is one of the unfortunate weak spots in the otherwise impressive
scholarship conducted by Rudolph.
Throughout his research Rudolph is intent upon disentangling what he regarded as
the well entwined strata of development of Mandaean religion found within Mandaean
literature. This approach to Mandaean studies is most fully realized in Theogonie,
Kosmogonie, und Anthropogonie in den mandischen Schriften, wherein Rudolph
attempts to arrange excerpts from Mandaean texts in sequence according to age based on
the theological and cosmological language they employ. He claims that the expression of

ideas connected to the different stages of Mandaeisms development can be identified

based upon the name: Hiia, Mana, Malka d Nhura, or Nbat, used to identify the supreme
deity of Mandaeism in a given passage. Over the course of his analysis Rudolph
concludes that the original expression of Mandaeism was that of a dualist Gnosticism
which grew out of heretical-Jewish interpretations of the Genesis creation narrative.8 At
its essence, Rudolph says Mandaeism was idealistic, egalitarian faith, and that it was only
because of unfortunate exposures to external influences that Mandaeism degenerates
into a monistic tradition, marked by priestly esotericism and concern for ritual behavior.9
Rudolphs vision of Mandaeism as a democratic and accessible religion overrun
by increasing clericism and ritualization bears a striking resemblance to the once
prevalent but now problematic theories of Christian origins and development. Since the
eighteenth century there has been a strong current within scholarship on early Christianity
which suggests that the religious movement formulated under Jesus and his early
followers, the movement that is understood by these scholars to represent true or
pure Christianity, quickly comes to be corrupt by pagan and/or papal influence and
devolves into the cleric and ritual perversion of Christianity that prevailed until the
Protestant Reformation.10 Rudolphs belief that the appearance of particular names
reveals the chronology and more importantly the corruption of Mandaean ideas frames
the process of Mandaean development in terms that echo the degenerative trajectory for

Kurt Rudolph, Theogonie, Kosmogonie, und Anthropogonie in den mandischen Schriften (Gttingen:
Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1965), 339-343.
9
Rudolph (1965), 342.
10
See Smith, 17-26.

early Christianity often proposed by History of Religions School scholars, many of whom
were Rudolphs contemporaries and colleagues.11
The problem with a theory of Mandaean origins that so closely reproduces the
tendencies of History of Religion School scholarship on early Christianity is that the
validity of the conclusions and assumptions borne of this work is increasingly suspect.
For example, Smith has argued that,
The pursuit of the origins of the question of Christian origins takes us back,
persistently, to the same point: Protestant anti-Catholic apologetics...this is by no
means a merely antiquarian concern. The same presuppositions, the same
rhetorical tactics, indeed, in the main, the very same data exhibited in these early
efforts underlie much of our present-day research, with one important alteration,
that the characteristics attributed to Popery, by the Reformation and postReformation controversialists, have been transferred, wholesale, to the religions
of Late Antiquity.12
In the modern period the study of early Christianity, especially with regard to the nature
of its development, has been skewed by a tendency towards a Protestant bias. Because
charges of clericism and ritualization are key components of anti-Catholic rhetoric the
contention that Christianity necessarily began as a democratic faith on to which the
foreign influences of the priesthood and ritual were grafted falls into question. Does this
accurately reflect the circumstances of the development of early Christianity or is it
(mis)shaping of the material to fit an ideological objective? As the legitimacy of the
picture of Christian origins as a process of a fall from a tradition of egalitarian, doctrinal,
11

For the connection between Rudolph and the history of religions school see: Karen King, What is
Gnosticism (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003),137-140.
12
Smith, 34, emphasis in the original.

purity to a hierarchical, ritual based religion begins to falter, the accuracy of the
assumption that a similar model of development was in play for Mandaeism also
struggles.
Could it not be that Rudolph, himself trained as a scholar of early Christianity,
likewise labors under the affects of the Protestant bias? It is possible, even reasonable, to
regard his theory of Mandaeisms development as another iteration of the anti-Catholic
apologetics that skewed the field of early Christian studies.13 Given their parallels and
the likelihood that bias informing theories of early Christian origins are also at work in
Rudolphs assessment of Mandaeism we cannot simply accept his assessment of
Mandaeism as a degraded expression of a once ideally egalitarian religion as an accurate
account of the nature of Mandaeism. Rudolphs study leaves us wanting for more
reliable insight into the specificities of Mandaean religion and its development
Another reason why we do the study of Mandaeism a disservice should we not
look beyond Rudolphs theory of Mandaean origins for knowledge about the nature of
Mandaeism is that the problematics of potential bias aside, the evidence upon which he
builds his theory, specifically the idea that the relative age (and therefore originality) of
Mandaean ideas can be determined based on the name for the supreme deity used in the
surrounding passages, does not hold up to scrutiny. While Rudolph is convinced that the
use of the appellation, Hiia, is indicative of the earliest strata of Mandaean thought
another prominent early Mandaean scholar, Wilhelm Brandt, is convinced that the oldest

13

Buckley also suggests that the anti-clericism in Rudolphs theory of Mandaean origins may owe
something to latent anti-Catholic bias, which she suggests he shared with other Mandaean scholars trained
in the study of early Christianity. See Buckley (2005), 300-301.

expression of Mandaean tradition is ensconced in the lines that address the primary
Mandaean deity with the name, Mana.14
The debate regarding which name denotes greater antiquity is further complicated
by the fact that when looking at various passages in Mandaean literature, including the
cosmogonies in book three of the Ginza, a tractate which Buckley and others argues
contains some of the oldest Mandaean material, the names Hiia and Mana are used
interchangeably with no indication from either the syntax or poetic structure to suggest
that either name was not part of the original composition.15 Even Rudolph, despite
contending that the use of Mana represents a secondary stratum of Mandaeism,
acknowledges that the Hiia and Mana traditions are so deeply intertwined that they are
both long standing and integral parts of Mandaeism.16 Contrary to his theory, Rudolphs
own research effectively demonstrates that the Mandaeans made no substantial
distinction between the use of Hiia and that of Mana. Consequently it is difficult to
sustain the idea that the appearance of a particular divine name represents a discrete stage
in the development of Mandaeism. The framework upon which Rudolph bases his theory
of Mandaeisms degeneration from an egalitarian faith to a priestly, ritual religion,
wherein the appearance of a new divine name signals another step away from the purity
of the original Mandaeism, is undermined by the fact that within the Mandaean material

14

Rudolph (1965), 66; Wilhelm Brandt, Die mandische Religion. Eine Erforschung der Religion der
Mander in theologischer, religioser, philosophischer, und kultureller Hinsicht dargestellt (Leipzig 1889;
reprint Amsterdam, Philo Press, 1973), 43.
15
Mark Lidzbarski, Ginza: Der Schatz oder das grosse Buch der Mander (Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and
Ruprecht, 1925). Hereafter cited as GR for Right Ginza or GL for Left Ginza. The Ginza is divided in
books, chapters, and verses. However not all books have chapters. I will cite material from the Ginza as
follows GR or GL Book.Chapter:Verse; followed by the pages from Lidzbarskis edition. GR 3; Lidzbarski
63-141. For the antiquity of the material in GR 3 see Buckley (2005), 298.
16
Rudolph (1965), 74.

10

itself the use of divine names often overlaps and the appearance of a specific name does
not seem to be connected to a particular ideology or distinctive theological stance.
We cannot continue to look to Rudolphs explanation of the origins and
development (or decline) of Mandaeism as a way to understand the nature of Mandaean
religion because the very basis upon which it is built, namely the notion that the choice of
divine appellation indicates the age and thus the degree of unadulterated Mandaeanness of a given passage, is not supported by the available material. In addition to
showing the anti-Catholic bias that undermines the legitimacy of certain theories within
the study of early Christianity, Rudolphs theory regarding Mandaean origins is
contradicted by the evidence. We cannot, therefore, make use of Rudolphs conclusions
about the origins of Mandaeism as a starting point for thinking about the nature of
Mandaeans. If we want to advance the field of Mandaean studies we must consider
another perspective.
Another reason to caution against using Rudolphs theories about the
development of Mandaeism as the basis for future research on Mandaean religion is
because it privileges speculation about a hypothetical vision of what Mandaeism might
have once been over scholarly engagement with what the religion actually purports to be.
The belief that true Mandaeism got lost along the way and that we are left with a pale
reflection of the ideal faith means that the focus of some of Rudolphs work on the
Mandaeans has concentrated on trying to isolate, extract, and reconstruct the pure
expression of the religion from the supposed quagmire of its extant presentation. This
approach threatens to distort our understanding of Mandaeism because it implies
attention to a hypothetical original Mandaeism is more relevant than the study of the

11

religion as it is actually manifest. Rudolphs schema asserts that the religion outlined in
Mandaean literature represents a degraded form of Mandaeism without inherent value on
its own terms. According to Rudolphs thinking the Mandaeism record in the literature
of the Mandaeans is only of interest insofar as it can be used as something from which
true Mandaeism might be reconstructed but not in and of itself a useful reflection of
Mandaean religion. So instead of engaging with the resources that have served and
continue to serve as the basis for Mandaean religion for the actual Mandaean community,
the notion of what it is to be a Mandaean promoted by Rudolphs approach relies upon a
speculative vision of a lost tradition arbitrarily reconstructed by culling from the
material at hand. This is problematic first because it steers our attention toward an
expression of a religion for which there is no substantive proof of existence (we exert our
efforts to chase the phantom of pure Mandaeism) and secondly because it does not
allow for the acknowledgement that, derivative or not, the material in Mandaean
literature is in fact the source from which the Mandaean community forms their religious
identity.
The literature as it currently exists reflects and inscribes how the Mandaeans
saw/see themselves and their religion. If there is something to be known about what
Mandaeism is it is encapsulated in the ideas presented in these texts as a whole and not in
the selective dissection of a few passages deemed to be of greatest antiquity. By cherrypicking through this material in order to find that which appears to fit best with efforts to
recreate what Mandaeism might once have been and dismissing the rest as the product of
corruption we disregard large swaths of Mandaean thought and consequently
decontextualize Mandaeism. Even if it is the result of later accretions to original ideas,

12

the religion found in the whole of Mandaean literature reflects what Mandaeism was at
the time of the composition and compellation of the texts that serve as basis of Mandaean
religion took place. If we want to answer questions about who the Mandaeans are or
what Mandaeism is then we have to take seriously the way in which Mandaeism
presented itself. We cannot look at these representations and isolate the parts we deem
most authentically Mandaean and then use only those to comment upon the nature of
Mandaeism. At best the approach that seeks to find the original, pure Mandaeism is
distorting, at worst it is entirely misleading. Rudolphs understanding of Mandaeism,
because he frames it in terms of a degeneration from an ideal to a corrupt religion,
presents a notion of what it is to be a Mandaean that has the dangerous potential of falling
in to the trap of privileging the study of a religion that exists in theory but not in reality in
place of studying the actual tradition. This is not the path we ought to take if we are to
have any hope of developing a better understanding of Mandaeism or advancing the case
for its relevance to the larger field of religious studies.

Jorunn Buckley
In recent year the most prolific and at time seemingly the lone remaining voice in
Mandaean studies has been Jorunn Buckley.17 Buckley has greatly advanced the field by
presenting Mandaeism as a distinctive religious tradition worthy of study in its own right.

17

There has been linguistic research on Mandaic, as well as archaeological work that has focused on
incantation bowls, including those written in Mandaic, but these studies tend to be only tangentially
interested in the social, cultural, or religious life of the Mandaeans. See Erica Hunter, Two Mandaic
Incantation Bowls from the 18th Nippur Season, Baghdader Mitteilungen 25 (1994): 605-18; Charles
Hberl, The neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr (WiesbadenL Harrassowitz, 2009); Edwin Yamauchi,
Mandaic Incantation Texts (Piscataway NJ: Gorgias Press, 2005).

13

Her books The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People and The Great Stem of
Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean History have contextualized our knowledge of the
modern Mandaean community, in the case of the former work, whereas the latter has
expanded the outline of the history of the Mandaeans. Buckleys research on the modern
and historical Mandaean communities has proven extremely useful to students of
Mandaeism, but when her scholarship ventures into the ahistoric realm of Mandaean
origins the potential to lead the field astray once again becomes an issue.
Cognizant of the shortcomings of Rudolphs theory about Mandaean origins,
especially as regards its basis in the available evidence, Buckley has attempted to provide
explanation for the origins of Mandaeism that is more solidly grounded in the material
found amongst the Mandaeans and elsewhere in late antique history. Building upon her
innovative work on the colophons attached to a wide array of Mandaean literature
Buckley proposes a scenario in which the Mandaeans began as a sect of Judaism that
broke ties with Judaism sometime around 30 C.E. Soon after this break the newly
independent sect journeyed eastward along a route that took them through Mesopotamia
to Media where they settle for an extended period. Buckley thinks that it was in Media,
at the intersection of the Silk Road, during the late 200 C.E. that the religion known as
Mandaeism was first systematized.18
Buckleys theory that Mandaeism came into being amidst the vibrantly crosscultural environment of the Median Silk Road offers an explanation of Mandaean origins
that both logically accounts for the interweaving of Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and
Gnostic traditionsall of which would have been present along the Silk Roadfound
within Mandaean practice and is supported by Mandaean literature as well as other
18

Buckley (2005), 339-340.

14

external evidence. Buckley derives her hypothesis about the origins of the Mandaeans
from narratives recorded in the Haran Gawaita, Mandaeism own account of their history.
Because of its cryptic and seemingly fractured nature many scholars have dismissed the
Haran Gawaita as too legendary to contain useful or accurate information about the
earliest phases of Mandaeism but Buckley, while still cautious, suggests a reading of the
text which outlines a migration story that traces a path that helps explicate the
theological, linguistic, and ritual complexity of Mandaeism.19 Of all of the available
theories about Mandaean origins the one proposed by Buckley has the strongest
evidentiary basis and best answers the questions of how and why the various elements
that make Mandaeism such a complicated and intriguing faith came together.
Yet for all that recommends Buckleys thoughts on the origins of Mandaeism, in
terms of substantially advancing the understanding of the nature of Mandaean religion the
helpfulness of this theory is limited. Like Rudolphs before her, Buckleys theory about
the Mandaeans origins carries within it the danger of stymieing Mandaean studies in the
realm of the purely hypothetical. This is because, even thought the comments in the
colophons from Mandaean literature and the content of the Haran Gawaita allude to
Mandaean life in the third century or earlier the images they invoke produce only
speculative projections about the experiences that the Mandaeans might have had if they
really did reside in Media during the early centuries of the Common Era. Although
Buckleys theory that the development of Mandaean religion was a consequence of a prehistorical stay in Media makes sense and may be the most well reasoned of the academic
theories about Mandaean origins there are no sourcesMandaean or otherwisethat
actually date from this period or location and place the Mandaeans there. Buckley is
19

Buckley (2005), 315-326.

15

extrapolating from Mandaean legend and while her thesis has much to recommend it
lacks sufficient evidence to be regarded as the definitive statement on Mandaean origins.
Buckley uses these literary sources to construct a feasible notion of how things might
have unfolded for the earliest Mandaeans but her conclusions must still be tempered by
the recognition that while logical they are not supported by any historically verifiable
evidence, consequently they amount to speculative projections about an unknown (and
likely unknowable) world.
Currently there is no concrete or conclusive material that attests to what the
Mandaeans were doing, what they believed, or where and how they lived prior to about
the 300s C.E. When we speak of proto or early Mandaeism in Media we are speaking in
terms of what Mandaeism might have been. Consequently we again run into the problem
of the overall validity and value of grounding our understanding of Mandaean religion in
a picture of the tradition that exists only in an imaginative hypothesizing about Mandaean
origins. We cannot rightly examine Mandaean religion if our primary focus is oriented
toward the conjectural reconstruction of a tradition that may or may not have ever
existed. And while the rest of Buckleys scholarship on the Mandaeans is productively
directed beyond speculation about the formative moments of Mandaeism, the very fact
that she returns to the question of origins as a way to explain the religious character of
Mandaeism means we are once more caught in the web of privileging imagined origins as
a way to contextualize our understanding of Mandaeism rather than concentrating on the
tradition as it presented in its literature. Buckleys data mining of Mandaean colophons
and her efforts to take seriously Mandaeisms own understanding of their history is a
welcome addition to the field of Mandaean studies but when such material is used in the

16

service of theorizing about Mandaean origins we are drawn back into a cycle of
unanswered and quite possibly unanswerable questions about Mandaeism. The pursuit of
the question of Mandaean origins is a vicious, answerless, cycle which puts us in danger
of setting Mandaean studies on a course of inquiry that threatens to render the study of
Mandaeism worthless within itself and irrelevant to the rest of Religious studies.

Plotting a New Course: The Mandaeans and Hybridity

Recently a number of voices among those studying religion in late antiquity have
advocated for the adoption of a methodological approach based on the theory of
hybridity. The goal of this methodological realignment is to plot a better, more
productive course for exploring the development of religious traditions in the late antique
world. The embrace of hybridity as an explanatory tool for the engagement with other
late antique traditions such as early Christianity, Rabbinic Judaism, and Gnosticisms
opens the way for a similar application of the principles of hybridity to the study of
Mandaeism. Analyzing Mandaean religion in terms of hybridity has at least two distinct
advantages for the advancement of Mandaean studies. On the one hand it offers the field
an opportunity to speculate about the nature of Mandaeisms development in a way that
does not rely on the sticky question of the origins of Mandaeism. Secondly a
concentration on hybridity provides insight into the process of religious identity
formation that occurs in the context of a pluralistic religious environment such as the
Mandaeans found themselves at the close of late antiquity.
In light of the problems that arise from trying to locate the investigation of the
nature of Mandaeism in a hermeneutic of origins Mandaean studies needs a new

17

theoretical framework. The effort to redirect the focus of Mandaean studies is helped by
consideration of precedent elsewhere from within the auspices of Religious studies.
Karen King, among others, recently proposed a similar change in orientation for the field
of Gnosticism.20 Concerned by the direction the emphasis on origins was leading Gnostic
studies King advocated for a different approach, What I am calling for is a shift in
historical-critical and literary methods away from the search for origins to the analysis of
practice.21 King insists that thinking about religious identity ought to be done in terms
of continuity of difference by which she means we should focus on recognizing the
process of formation, deformation, and reformation that is constantly at work within
religious traditions.22 Instead of trying to determine the origin or purity of an idea or
theme King contends that a more fruitful avenue of inquiry is that which addresses how a
religion engages a particular idea or theme to resolve issues encountered by the religion.23
The theoretical framework proposed by King for the study of Gnosticism is
equally applicable and easily transferred to the study of Mandaeism. We need to
approach Mandaeism as a dynamic entity, recognizing that it is a tradition that has been
forged in the process of responding and adapting to the context in which it found itself.
Our scholarship would be well served by focusing on how a given theme or aspect of
Mandaeism functions either in response to or as a part of this process of reaction and
adaptation. Observing the ways in which Mandaeism negotiated its milieu will provide
us with important insight into the character of Mandaean religion. It will reveal to us the
circumstances under which key Mandaean beliefs or concepts were formulated.
20

See Karen King, What is Gnosticism; and Michael Williams, Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for
Dismantling a Dubious Category, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).
21
King, 228.
22
King, 229-230.
23
King, 231.

18

Knowing these things will give us a far better picture of who the Mandaeans are and why
they matter than we could ever hope to discern from speculating about the origins of
Mandaeism.
The other reason why the theory of hybridity proves an appropriate
methodological framework for thinking about Mandaean religion is because research
suggests the tendency for hybridity within religious traditions corresponds with moments
of dynamic shifts in the surrounding cultural milieu. Daniel Boyarin and Virginia Burrus
contend that hybridity happens when imperial claims to oneness of truth and power are
disrupted. 24 The disruption of long established institutions of power and religion is
precisely the situation the Mandaeans found themselves in the early Seventh century
when Sasanian rule of the Mandaean homeland was usurped by Muslim forces from
Arabia. For the Mandaeans living during the close of late antiquity conditions were
ideally suited for recourse to the use of hybridity. Consequently in order to understand
the development of Mandaeism in late antiquity it is essential to concentrate on instances
of hybridity in Mandaean religion.

Mandaeism and Islam

Along with a new theoretical perspective comes a new sense of context. If we
turn our attentions away from the issue of Mandaeisms origin we are no longer
constrained by the practice of comparing Mandaean religion to the traditions (i.e.
Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism) from which it can be argued to have derived.
From a chronological perspective, Islam cannot be regarded as a source of origin for

24

Daniel Boyarin and Virginia Burrus, Hybridity as Subversion of Orthodoxy? Jews and Christians in
Late Antiquity, Social Compass 52, no. 4, (2005): 431-441, 432.

19

Mandaeism. However because of a shared geography and an overlapping history there

are reasons to bring considerations of Islam into purview of Mandaean studies. So in
addition to reoriented the approach to Mandaean studies I intend to investigate the
process of Mandaeisms formation, deformation, and reformation with an eye towards
the possible influence of Islam.
The idea that comparison with Islam could reveal something about Mandaeism,
though not a novel concept is still one that remains underdeveloped within the purview of
European language scholarship on the Mandaeans.25 There have been occasional calls by
prominent scholars of Mandaeism, most notably Kurt Rudolph, suggesting that the
attention of Mandaean studies ought to turn eastward. Speculating about the most
beneficial future trajectory for Mandaean studies Rudolph professes the belief that
Babylonian-Assyrian, Aramaic-Syriac, Iranian-Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian
elements influenced the literature and cultic practices of Mandaeism and that it is
attention to these influences within the context of what Rudolph calls Oriental studies
that the continued relevance of Mandaean studies will be found.26 It is worth noting that
even though Rudolph mentions Islam once or twice in the course of arguing why
Mandaean studies ought to be reoriented eastward he does not include Islam on the list of
traditions whose influence on Mandaeism merit further study. This omission carries the
implication that while Rudolph seems to be cognizant of an overlap between Mandaeism
and Islam it did not occur to him, despite the fact that he is specifically engaging the
question of which traditions need to be studied in comparison to Mandaeism, to count
25

Non-European language scholarship, specifically Arabic and Persian take up the topic of Mandaeism and
Islam but research is not translated and is not readily available outside of Iraq and Iran. See Masud
Furuzandah, Tahqiqi dar din-I Sabiin i-Mandai, (Iran: Simat, 1998).
26
Kurt Rudolph, The Relevance of Mandaean Literature for the Study of Near Eastern Religions ARAM
16 (2004): 12.

20

Islam among the relevant sources. This tacit but ultimately inconsequential attention to
Islam in conjunction with Mandaeism is also present in the works of Mark Lidzbarski and
Rudolf Mauch. Both Lidzbarski and Mauch have acknowledged the need to consider
Mandaeism in terms of Islam but neither pursued topic within their own research.27
The singular exception to the unheeded calls to combine scholarship on
Mandaeism and Islam occurs in inasi Gndzs The Knowledge of Life.28 Gndz
attempts to reconcile theories about the origins and the early beliefs of the Mandaeans
with religious groups known to early Islamic historians as the Harrian and the Sabeans.29
The evidence presented by Gndz offers an interesting and previously overlooked
perspective on the nature of early Mandaeism. It introduces the idea that there is
something useful to be learned from trying to contextualize Mandaeism in terms of Islam
and in doing so opens the door to a broader consideration of how comparison with
Islamic material can facilitate an expanded understanding of Mandaeism.
The following study attempts to step through the door opened by Gndz and
seeks to further connect Mandaeism with Islam. It is my contention that once we step
through the door and begin trying to analyze Mandaeism in conjunction with Islamin
comparison with Islamic beliefs and practiceswe will begin to understand the
intricacies of Mandaean religion in a new light. When Mandaeism is compared to Islam
the possibility emerges that the religious literature and the literary imagery of the
27

See Mark Lidzbarski, Ginza: Der Schatz, oder, das grosse Buch der Mander and Das Johannesbuch der
Mander, (Giessen: Tpelmann, 1915), especially the introductions; and Mauch (1965), 76-190.
28
inasi Gndz, The Knowledge of Life: The Origins and Early History of the Mandaeans and Their
Relationship to the Sabeans of the Qur`an and to the Harranians, Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement
3. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
29
Also see: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Exegetical Identification of the Sbin Muslim World 72 vol. 2
(1982): 95-106; Johannes Pedersen, The Sbians in A Volume of Oriental Studies Presented to Edward
G. Browne, eds. T.W. Arnold & Reynold A. Nicholson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922);
Bayard Dodge, The Sabians of Harrn, in American University of Beirut Festival Book, eds. Fad Sarrf
& Suha Tamim, (Beriut: American University of Beirut, 1967): 59-85.

21

Mandaeans owe something to Mandaean interactions with the Muslims. Specifically we

find evidence that around the time Mandaean literature in the form we know it today
began to take shape both part of the impetus to create this particular canon of Mandaeism
and certain narratives about exemplary figures found therein were influenced by
Mandaean strivings to present itself, or express a religious identity for Mandaeism which
was in accordance with Islamic notions of that which constituted a legitimate or
acceptable religion.
Rather than struggle, yet again, with efforts to read Mandaeism, Mandaean
stories, and rhetoric as variants of Judaism, Christianity, or Gnosticism I propose that we
take seriously the notion that while compiling their literature and constructing the present
iteration of their sacred texts the Mandaeans may have regarded the Muslims as a
significant secondary audience of this material. This is not to say that the Mandaeans
were necessarily writing for the Muslims but that in terms of immediate influence the
Muslims factored more prominently into Mandaean concerns than Gnosticism, Judaism,
or Christianity.
Faced with the prospect of needing to advocate for the legitimacy of Mandaean
faith amongst their Muslim conquerors and then neighbors the Mandaeans utilized the
inherent plasticity of narrative to present a picture of themselves as a religion which
conformed to the ideals of Muslims sense of proper religiosity. From the timing of the
development of their primary religious texts to the depictions of Miriai and Yahia,
characters who have clear Gnostic, Jewish or Christian precedents but whose appearance
in Mandaean literature often proves troublesome to explain with regard to these
traditions, the interpretative lens for Mandaean literature becomes more intelligible when

22

it is refocused on Islamic imagery and concepts. When read with an eye towards the
possibility of an Islamic context the various elements of Mandaean literature begin to
reveal a consistent and coherent goal of helping Mandaeism to negotiate its relationship
with Islam.
Comparison with Islam thus becomes a productive way to rethink how and why
the religious identity of the Mandaeans developed. Gaining this kind of perspective on
the process by which Mandaeism came to represent itself offers us a new and arguably
more useful approach to understanding the nature, context and significance of
Mandaeism in relation to the field of religious studies.

Contextualizing Islam
Bringing Islam into a discussion of the development of Mandaeism and its
religious literature raises some vexing taxonomic questions about the status or nature of
Islam as a religious tradition in the seventh and eight centuries C.E. Before proceeding
with a consideration of the potential effect the exposure to the Muslim community had on
articulations of the religious identity of the Mandaeans it is necessary to establish what
sort of tradition we are dealing with when we speak of Islam in late antiquity and what
this means for the larger comparative project.
Islamic tradition indicates that the religion known as Islam began in the early
600s with the revelations given to Muhammad and that Islam was fully formed by or
soon after Muhammads death in 632.30 Scholarship on early Islam questions the veracity
of the traditional account of Islams origins and calls for a significantly revised timeline
for the emergence of Islam. The prevailing theory among scholars of Islam is that the
30

Fazlur Rahman, Islam: Second Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002): 11-29.

23

placement of the beginnings of Islam in the seventh century is a narrative construct

concocted by the projection of the concerns of the eighth, ninth, or even tenth century
Muslims into the past.31 In the estimation of many scholars Islam did not spring fully
formed from Muhammad like Athena from the head of Zeus, but rather that it developed
slowly over a period of at least a couple of centuries.
One representative example of this theory of Islams origins comes from Patricia
Crone who coined the term Hagarism to refer to the early phases of the religious
movement that eventually became Islam. She contends that during the 600 and 700s C.E.
proto-Islam underwent a series of steps and some significant theological revisions as part
of the process of transition from an amorphous religious movement to the tradition that
came to be known as Islam. Crone posits that Hagarism began as a messianic inspired
incursion of Arabs in to Palestine-Syria and once the initial movement grew in size and
power it integrated and reshaped notions of Abrahamic genealogy, prophethood, and
sacred polity to respond to the evolving needs of the community.32 John Wansbrough has
similarly argued that the early history of Islam consists of a combination of
interconfessional and political polemics involving Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and
proto-Muslims.33 Even scholars, such as Fred Donner, that suggest a trajectory of
development within early Islam that is more in accord with traditional Islamic timelines

31

Patricia Crone and David Cook, Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1977); Gerald Hawtig, The Ideal of Idolatry and the Rise of Islam: From Polemic to
History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999); and John Wansbrough, The Sectarian Milieu:
Content and Comparison of Islamic Salvation History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978).
32
Crone, 3-40.
33
Wansbrough (1978), 16-19

24

still acknowledge that the earliest expressions of Islam were marked with considerable
foment and debate regarding key ideas.34
In light of this scholarship it is not possible to speak of Islam, in the sense we
know it today, or a fixed set of Islamic ideas when discussing late antiquity. Islam was
still developing when the Mandaeans first encountered the Muslims and it is likely that
religious beliefs to which the Mandaeans were exposed were still under debate and may
have differed among communities of Muslims. We must be mindful of the
precariousness of the Islamic traditions with which the Mandaeans might have come in
contact. The lack of a clearly defined Islam does not, however, preclude the potential for
cross-religion exchange between the Mandaeans and proto-Muslims. To the contrary, the
descriptions of nascent Islam given by both Crone and Wansbrough specifically position
the tradition as one for which the exchange of religious ideas is not only the norm, it is
the source of the development of Islam. Islam is, according to these scholars, an
amalgam of an indigenous Arab religious movement and various Mesopotamian and
Iranian religious ideals. The Mandaeans may have encountered a tradition still in
transition but it was a tradition open to interactions with other religion
Furthermore while we must acknowledge that the literature, theology, and praxis
of Islam were still forming and were not yet universal staples for practitioners of protoIslam it is reasonable to think that the seeds of certain ideas, especially those that would
eventually become central to Islam were already circulating. The ideas may not have
been doctrine in the seventh and eighth century but they may well have been matters of
debate. If the proto-Muslim community was, in fact, wrangling with potentially defining

34

Fred M. Donner, Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writings (Princeton
N.J.: The Darwin Press, 1998), 35-124.

25

aspects of its system of belief it makes sense that these discussions might have been
heard by other religious communities or that they might have even spilled over in to
conversations with other religions. For this reason I think we are justified in searching
for evidence of interaction between the Mandaean and the Muslims, as well as pointing
out moments where it appears theological thoughts or precepts coincide.

A Twofold project
The comparison of Mandaean literary imagery with the tenets of Islam is actually
the second of the two focal tasks undertaken by this project. In order to apply an Islamic
lens the interpretation of Mandaean literature first we must establish the comparability of
Mandaeism and Islam. Because so little attention has been paid to Islam in the context of
Mandaean studies an argument must be made to establish the academic legitimacy of
comparing the two traditions. The first part of this project is, therefore, concerned with
demonstrating that appropriate conditions existed to facilitate meaningful interaction
between Mandaeism and Islam. Taking into consideration geography, chronology, and
the cross-cultural disposition of both religions I will show that the paths of Mandaeism
and Islam intersected, that conditions were right for an exchange of influence, and that
Mandaeism was likely to have been receptive to the influence of Islam. Another aspect
of this part of this project will be to introduce the idea that the formation of Mandaean
literature into what can be considered its current canon likewise seems to have been
susceptible to and ultimately shaped by Islam. This will help prove two important things:
firstly that the facts insist that study of Islam in concert with Mandaeism is not only

26

merited but warranted and secondly that the inclusion of Islam as an influential factor is
especially relevant to understanding the development of Mandaean literature.
The establishment of these ideas lays the groundwork for the second half of the
project which turns to the analysis of two particular figures found in Mandaean literature,
Miriai and Yahia. Mandaeism heralds these two as exemplars of Mandaean piety.
Consequently a careful reading of their stories greatly illuminates the contents of
Mandaean religiosity. The intricacies of Miriais appearance in Mandaean literature
suggest, one the one hand, a figure with conceptual parallels to Miriam in Islam. On the
other hand, Miriais interactions with the Jews in her stories give the impression that the
Mandaean literature is engaging with themes not unrelated to those associated with
Judaism within early Islam. For his part, Yahia in Mandaean literature projects an image
that appears to conform to Islamic notion of prophethood, generally, and at other times
Yahias character invokes direct connections to Muslim conceptions of Muhammad. The
cumulative effect of recognizing and analyzing the correspondences between these
Mandaean characters and Muslim traditions results in a fuller appreciation for the value
of the contributions these characters make to the expression of the Mandaeans religious
identity.

27

Chapter 2
Means, Motive and Opportunity: Arguing for the Intersection of
Mandaeism and Islam

A brief look at the archeological and literary evidence of Mandaeisms presence

and influence in Mesopotamia and Iran during late antiquity along with a review of the
timing and impression made by the expansion of Islam into this same region at the end of
the late antique era proves that there is compelling reason to merge discussions of
Mandaeism with those about Islam and visa-versa. Although it has not always been
readily acknowledged a strong case can be made that the means, motive, and opportunity
clearly existed to encourage interaction, perhaps even meaningful exchange between
Mandaeism and Islam. This chapter looks at the circumstances and conditions first on
the side of the Mandaeans and then on that of the Muslims which suggest these two
traditions were in the right place, at the right time, and with the right type of engagement
within the religious climate of the region so as to provide sufficient cause to think that the
development of Mandaeism could very well have been impacted by its encounters with
Islam.

Steles, Psalms, Bowls and Scribal Centers: Seeing Mandaeism as an Active Presence
in the Religious World of Ancient Iraq and Iran
One of the enduring (but probably unanswerable) questions of Mandaean Studies
is that of the place of Mandaeisms origin. Opinion is divided between the belief
proffered by Mandaean legendthat Palestine is the original home of the Mandaeans,
28

but that at some point the Mandaean community was forced to migrate eastward to the
Tigris-Euphrates delta and the contention that the Mandaeans have always been people
with Mesopotamian roots.35 Given the available evidence it seems unlikely that this
query over the geographic origins of the Mandaeans with ever be satisfactorily resolved.
Although the debate about the location of the Mandaeans first homeland continues to
occupy Mandaean studies, even those who profess loyalty to the theory of Palestinian
origins agree that the available evidence reliably establishes that wherever the Mandaeans
first came from they had made a place for themselves in the region that now comprises
the southern portion Iraq and Iran from the first or second century C.E. onwards.36
Proof suggesting that the Mandaeans have been in Mesopotamia since at least the
early 200s C.E. comes in a variety of forms. Evidence of the Mandaeans presence in
the Sasanian world is alluded to on the steles produced by the Zoroastrian priest Kirdir.
It appears again in conjunction with the Manichaean Psalms of Thomas, which seem to
owe their form and content to Mandaean poetry. Mandaeism also left an impression on
collections of late antique incantation bowls inscribe in Mandaic and other Aramaic
languages, which make reference to Mandaean deities. Finally, the Mandaeans
themselves testify to their vibrancy and potential for involvement in the religious world
of the Tigris-Euphrates delta through passing references to the town of Tib, which seems
to function as center for Mandaean religious thought. As diverse as these sources may
35

The first is the position of Rudolf Mauch and Jorunn Buckley, see Mauch (1965), 76-190; and
Buckley, The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Edwin Yamauchi and Christa Mller-Kessler are representative of those who advocate for Mesopotamian
origins, seeYamauchi, Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins, (Piscataway, N.J.: Gorgias Press, 2004); and
Mller-Kessler, The Mandaeans and the Question of Their Origins. ARAM 16 (2004): 47-60.
36
See Buckley (2005), especially chapter 15, 311-342; E.S Drower, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran,
(Leiden: Brill, 1937); Lidzbarski, Ginza and Johannesbuch, introductions; Mauch (1965); Richard
Reitzenstein, Das mandishe Buch des Herren der Grsse und die Evangelienberlieferung
(Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1919); Kurt Rudolph, Die Mander, vol.
1 & 2 (Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1960-1961).

29

be, an examination of each of them reveals that they are united in demonstrating that the
Mandaeans were an established religious presence in the areas of Mesopotamia and Iran
that became a seat of Islamic power by the close of late antiquity. Furthermore this
combination of archeological and literary evidence shows that within the Mesopotamian
world, Mandaeism was an active and influential source of religious thought and belief,
which engaged and exchanged with the surrounding religious traditions. These two
factorsMandaeisms place in the region and its interaction with its neighboring
religionshelp to establish that the means, motive and opportunity to engage with Islam
were readily available to Mandaeism.

Kirdirs Steles
Testimonials to Mandaeisms presence in the cultural milieu of late antique
southern Mesopotamia that do not originate with Mandaean sources are sparse but there
is at least one telling inscription of Sasanian origin that does seem to acknowledge that
Mandaeism was among the religious traditions found in the late antique Iranian Empire.
This rare external indication of a Mandaean presence in the world of ancient Iraq and Iran
comes in the form of three self congratulatory steles erected by a Zoroastrian high priest
named Kirdir.37 Sasanian sources identify Kirdir as a leader of the Zoroastrian priestly
community and an ambitious, high ranking member of the late third century Sasanian
imperial court. In addition to serving as a close advisor to multiple Sasanian Emperors,
Kirdir was known for his rigorous reforms of Zoroastrianism and for advocating an

37

Also transliterated Kardir, Kartir, or Karter.

30

Empire wide adherence to a strictly defined version of Zoroastrian tradition.38 During his
tenure as the Zoroastrian high priest Kirdir attempted both to purge the region of anything
he considered Zoroastrian heresies, and to expel all competing faiths from the Sasanian
world. Of the four extant steles commissioned in his honor, three: the Sar Mashhad, the
Naqsh I Rustam, and the Kaba of Zoroaster, are inscribed with a message lauding his
campaign against the religions he regarded as detrimental to Zoroastrianism. The text,
repeated on all three steles, claims that Kirdir successfully persecuted the Jews,
Buddhists, Brahmins, Nasory, Christians, Maktaks and Zandiks.39
About half of the names that appear on Kirdirs list of religions that he claims to
have expelled from the Sasanian Empire are immediately recognizableJews, Buddhists,
Brahmins and Christians. The other three, Nasory, Maktaks, and Zandiks, are perhaps
less familiar. The Maktaks are often interpreted as referring to some sort of baptizing
sect whereas the Zandiks are thought to be either the Manichaeans or heretical
Zoroastrians.40 The referent for the first term, Nasory, is more debated but the linguistic
evidence seems to indicate that it ought to be associated with the Mandaeans. Linguistic
analysis indicates that the Middle Persian term nsly can be rendered Nasory which is
equivalent to the Mandaic word nasar (to observe rules).41 The cognate nature of the

38

Cambridge History of Iran. vol. 3 part 2 ed. Eshan Yarshater (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1983), 1209-1211.
39
In Middle Persian yhwdy, mny, blmny, nsly, klystdn, mktky, zndyky. Cambridge History of Iran. vol. 3
part 2, 907.
40
There is no clear translation for mktky but based on its linguistic similarities to the Middle Persian root
word mak which means immersion in water it has been argued that the mkyky are a specific but
undistinguished group of Baptists. Znd is the root for zndyky which translates as interpreters. The
Zandiks, or Interpreters are thought to be either the Manichaeans, who seemed to rely on some
Zoroastrian myths, but interpreted them to fit their own theology or heretical Zoroastrians, possibly
Zurvanites, whose interpretation of the Avesta diverged from that of Kirdirs othrodoxy. Cambridge
History of Iran vol. 3 part 2, 908.
41
Nsly is also sometimes rendered Nazarenes in the sense of followers of Jesus of Nazareth, i.e.
Christians, however this translation seems questionable given that the term klystdn which is readily

31

Middle Persian term Nasory and that of the Mandaic nasar is notable because the
Mandaic term Nasuria, which is derived from the root nasar, regularly appears in
Mandaean literature as a way to designate the members of the Mandaean community that
belong to their priestly caste.42 Nasuria Mandaean literature suggests that within the
Mandaean community a distinction exists between lay Mandaeans, referred to as
Mandaiia, and a class of Mandaeans with specialized knowledge of the religious
mysteries of Mandaeism known as the Nasuria or Nasuraiia. The Nasuria are the
religious elites of the Mandaeans. Drower reinforces the notion that special religious
status is accorded to the Nasuria by pointing out that many Mandaean magic rolls bear
the inscription, this is written from the nasirutha of So-and-So.43 She translates
nasirutha, a variation on the root word from which Nasuria is derived, as priestly craft
and notes that the same term is employed in the Haran Gawaita to indicate the
culmination of Yahias, a leading priestly figure in Mandaean tradition, education,
When he [Yahia] was seven years old, Anus Uthra came and wrote the ABC (a
ba ga) for him, until, when he was twenty-two years old, he had learnt all the
priestly-craft (nasirutha).44
The use of Nasuria or the related word nasirutha to refer to elements of Mandaean
culture associated with its priestly tradition establishes that these terms were traditionally
tied to the religious life of the Mandaeans. It is possible to imagine therefore how this
identifiable as Christian appears immediately after nsly on the stele. It seems unnecessarily redundant to
list both Nazarenes and Christians on a list of purged religions.
42
Edmundo Lupieri disagrees with the idea that Nasuri or nasuraiia, as he identifies them, necessarily
refers to a priestly caste, but he does conclude that nasuraiia refers to an elite class within Mandaean
culture who, despite Lupieris insistence that they are not limited to priests, are distinguished from lay
Mandaeans by virtue of their exceptional knowledge of Mandaean religion and who served as the rulers
and paradigms for the rest of the Mandaean community. See Lupieri, The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics,
trans. Charles Hindley (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001), 9.
43
Drower (1937), 4.
44
This is a passage from the Mandaean text Haran Gawaita quoted in Drower (1937), 4.

32

usage also may have spilled over to those outside of the Mandaean community, especially
in a context in which the outsiders references are primarily concerned with the
Mandaeans as a religious entity. Since Kirdir erected his stele with the intention of
boasting of his ability to rid the Sasanian Empire of the religions he considered threats to
Zoroastrian hegemony it makes sense that were he to include the Mandaeans among the
roster of communities he purged he would list them by a name Nasory/Nasuria
associated with the religious component of their society.45
The association of the Mandaeans, vis--vis the term Nasuria, with the stele of
Kirdir is important because it is an early and externally generated sign that the
Mandaeans where a known religious entity in the Iranian imperial world in the era just
prior to the regions integration into the Muslims expansion. Allowing for the idea that
Kirdirs stele accurately records the religious traditions present in the Sasanian Empire
which he actively persecuted but did not actually eradicate from the area, it is possible to
conclude that Mandaeism, like Judaism, Christianity, Manichaeism and, of course,
Zoroastrianism was part of the religious climate encountered by the Muslims when they
overtook the Sasanian Empire.
Moreover the inclusion of the Mandaeans on a list of religious traditions that
Kirdir deemed worthy of expunging from the Empire indicates that however small the
Mandaean community might have been it exerted enough influence within the religious
milieu of the Sasanian Empire to be considered a religious force with which to be
reckoned. Kirdirs identification of Mandaeism as a religion that needed to be quelled
lest it prove detrimental to the integrity of Zoroastrianism indicates that the Mandaeans

45

Buckley, Lupieri, and Yamauchi all assume that the nasory on Kirdirs stele refers to the Mandaean
cum nasuraiia. See Buckley (2005), 4-5; Lupieri, 141; Yamauchi, 76.

33

had the capacity to make an impression within the larger religious community which
merited the notice of the prevailing religious authority. The Mandaeans ability to
command the attention of the Sasanian high priest Kirdir suggests that, as a religious
tradition, Mandaeism would have been well positioned to garner notice from the Muslims
when they replaced the Sasanians as the leaders of the Empire. This would seem to
heighten the likelihood that Islamic religious authorities also would have come to be
aware of the Mandaeans when the Muslims moved into the area. According to the
evidenced extrapolated from the Mandaeisms appearance on the stele of Kirdir the
Mandaeans are ideally positioned, geographically and culturally, to have had an
opportunity to interact with the Muslims during their initial expansion into Mesopotamia.

Manichaean Psalms of Thomas

Switching from the archeology of the Zoroastrians to the literature of the
Manichaeans there is additional reason to believe that Mandaeans and their religion were
an influential factor within the religious landscape of the Sasanian Empire in the time
leading up to the Islamic conquest. In what appears to be an instance of the direct
influence of Mandaeism on another religion, a study of the third century C.E.
Manichaean Psalms of Thomas by Torgny Sve-Sderbergh concludes that thematically
and linguistically the Manichaean texts are reliant on Mandaean religious poetry.
In his analysis of the Psalms, Sve-Sderbergh observes that in terms of both
structure and content the Manichaean work significantly differs from other known
Manichaean Psalms but that it closely parallels Mandaean texts about the masiqta (death

34

mass) and ascension of the soul.46 For example, he notes that the concluding phrases of
the first and second Psalm (Th. I and Th. II) mirror the doxology in book three of the Left
Ginza.47
Sve-Sderbergh also points out that a request in Th. XVIII that ones limbs be
prohibited from doing evil is unique in comparison to the rest of Manichaean tradition.
There is no other comparable passage or command to be found elsewhere in Manichaean
literature. There is, however, an analogous sentiment in segments of at least four
different Mandaean sources. For example, chapter fifteen of the Mandaean Book of John
includes a speech from a pious Mandaean repudiating evil that says,
My eyes, which look upward toward the Life, will not see this sight. My ears,
which hear prayer and blessing, will not listen to vain song. My mouth, which is
full of prayer and blessing, will bring me no sacrilegious song. My hands, which
give Alms, will cause no death upon Earth. My heart, which rests with the Great
Life, will not be given over to sacrilege through song. My soul and my trunk,
which is perfected in Kut, will not fall into the blazing fire. My body, which
has committed no sexual offense, will not fall prey to the tricks of the Seven. My
knee, bends down to the Life, will not kneel for false gods, bandleaders, or idols.
My foot, which treads the path of Kut, will not walk in lies and falsehood.48

46

Torgny Sve-Sderbergh, Studies in the Coptic Manichaean Psalmbook, (Uppsala: Almqvist and
Wiksell, 1949), 160.
47
Sve-Sderbergh, 87.
48
JB 15.59-61, Lidzbarski 63-64. Citations from the Book of John are based on Lidzbarski, Das
Johannesbuch der Mander. Giessen: Tpelmann, 1915, (hereafter JB). Quotes will be listed as JB with
the chapter and versed followed by the page numbers as they appear in Lidzbarski.

35

Similar restrictions upon the actions of various parts of the body are also outlined in the
Left Ginza book three, chapter nineteen; the Right Ginza book two, chapter three; and
prayer 179 from the Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans.49
Further correspondences between Mandaean and Manichaean texts appear
throughout the Psalms of Thomas. In some cases the phrasing of the Manichaean work is
developed a way that leads Sve-Sderbergh to conclude that there has been direct
borrowing from Mandaean literature in to the Manichaean writings. In his analysis of
Psalm V, Sve-Sderbergh points out that the Manichaean text can be shown to be
composed of material lifted, often word for word, from book two of the Left Ginza. 50
Sve-Sderbergh cites this evidence of direct and indirect parallels, along with a careful
linguistic analysis of the Mandaic and Manichaean texts as proof that Mandaean literature
was the primary source for the Manichaean Psalms of Thomas and that Mandaean
theology exerted a powerful influence over the development of this particular piece of
Manichaean literature. He concludes that Mandaeism was integral to this portion of
Manichaeism.51
The theory that theological ideas expressed the literature of the Mandaeans
flowed into Manichaean writings establishes two important things about the
circumstances of Mandaeisms standing in the world of Sasanian Iran. First it reinforces
the contention that southern Mesopotamia during late antiquity is the geographic and
chronological milieu with which Mandaeism ought to be associated. Secondly it proves
49

GL 3.19 Lidzbarski, 540; GR 2.3 Lidzbarski, 57; CP 162. Citations from the Left Ginza (GL) and the
Right Ginza (GR) are based on Lidzbarski, Ginza: Der Schatz, oder, das grosse Buch der Mander,
(Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1925). They are listed according to book, chapter and verse
(when applicable), followed by pages in Lidzbarski. Quotes from the Canonical Prayerbook are from
Drower, The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans, (Leiden: Brill, 1959).
50
Sve-Sderbergh, 124.
51
Sve-Sderbergh, 155.

36

that Mandaeism had the standing to function as an influential force upon neighboring
traditions. With regard to Mandaeisms placement within the geographic region that is
modern-day southern Iraq and Iran, the speculation that this is a likely locale of early
Mandaean activity is affirmed by the evidence of the literary exchange between
Mandaeism and Manichaeism. Although Manichaeism was a prodigiously missionary
religion that would eventually spread as far as the inner reaches of China52, during its
early stages, Manichaeism was grounded within the boundaries of the Sasanian Empire.53
The Psalms of Thomas, which were written during the late third century C.E., are part of
this early, Sasanian, stage of Manichaean development. By extension this means that for
Mandaean literature to be able to serve as source material for the Psalms, the Mandaean
texts also would have had to have been circulating in the Sasanian community by at least
250 C.E. The Manichaean Psalms of Thomas thus offer further proof that the Mandaeans
were active participants in the multicultural environment of the Sasanian Empire.
The realization that the Mandaeans were neighbors to the Manichaeans and that as
neighbors the Mandaeans were able to affect the development of Manichaean religion
makes it possible to speculate on the relative status of the Mandaeans within the religious
milieu of the Sasanian Empire. In much the same way the inclusion of the Mandaeans on
Kirdirs steles suggests Mandaeism was a religious force capable of catching the attention
of the ruling religious authorities, the incorporation of Mandaean writings into the
religious texts of the Manichaeans demonstrates that a culture of exchange or interreligious dialogue existed between Mandaeism and the other religions in the area. The
reflections of Mandaean beliefs found throughout the Manichaean Psalms suggest that at
52

Regarding the development and spread of Manichaeism see Samuel N. C. Lieu, Manichaeism in the
Later Roman Empire and Medieval China 2nd Edition (Tbingen: Mohr, 1992).
53
See Lieu, Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the Roman East (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994).

37

some point the practitioners of these traditions were probably in conversation with one
another. At the very least the integration of Mandaean elements into Manichaeism
demonstrates that the Manichaeans had encountered Mandaeism and found a need to
reconcile the beliefs of the latter with Manichaean theology. This means that Mandaeism
possessed a religious profile that was able to engage and potentially affect the other
religious traditions that shared the Mandaeans geographic surroundings. Mandaeism
ability to make an impression on Manichaeism also establishes a pattern of behavior that
supports the notion that the Mandaeans would be similarly disposed to interacting with
the Muslims when they ventured across the borders into the environs of the Sasanian
Empire.

Mandaic Prayer Bowls

The third bit evidence that helps to contextualize the Mandaeans presence in late
ancient Mesopotamia so as to suggest that Mandaeism was a religious tradition with a
history of cross-cultural interaction that would have likewise lent itself to contact and
exchange with the Muslims comes in the form of collections of late antique incantation
bowls. Found in excavation sites throughout the Tigris-Euphrates valley and delta,
incantation bowls are usually medium to large sized serving vessels, the interior of which
are inscribed with prayers or entreaties to various deities and divine figures for
protection.54 The bowls were commissioned by a client whose name appears in the text

54

There is one bowl in the Royal Ontario Museum collection that also inscribed on the exterior of the bowl,
however this is a continuation of the interior text and seems to be an anomaly. W.S. McCullough, Jewish
Mandaean Incantation Bowls in the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967),
xi-xii.

38

of the incantation as the solicitor of divine favor. Once the propitiatory text was written
on the bowl they seem to have been buried under the household, usually near the
threshold, of the bowls owner. Currently all the published bowls all date from
approximately 600 C.E. and originated in the area of Iraq and Iran that straddles the
Tigris and Euphrates. The bowls appear to have been part of the popular religious culture
of the late Sasanian Empire. Analysis suggests use of the bowls was not limited to a
particular religion but rather was common among Jewish, Christian, and Mandaean
communities.55
Because Jews, Christians, and Mandaeans are all owned incantation bowls the
religious content of the inscriptions has a tendency to combine imagery and terminology
from multiple traditions sometimes making it difficult to identify the specific religion to
which the owner belongs. There are, however, some bowls for which their association
with Judaism, Christianity or Mandaeism is clear. With respect to the bowls of
determinable provenance, William McCulloughs study of the incantation bowls in the
Royal Ontario Museum categorizes three bowls as distinctively connected to Mandaeism
and Edwin Yamauchi cites the existence of five or six additional bowls that are clearly
Mandaean in nature.56
The existence of distinctly Mandaean incantation bowls, especially in the midst of
a larger multicultural use of incantation bowls, does double duty in the service of
demonstrating the means, motive, and opportunity that would have made Mandaeism
receptive to engaging with Islam. It furthers the argument in favor of the Mandaeans
potential connection to the Muslims first by reiterating the notion that the Mandaeans

55
56

McCullough, xii-xiv.
McCullough, 11-53.Yamauchi, 76-77.

39

were present at the right time and in the right place to come in to contact with the
emerging influence of Islam. Secondly the existence of Mandaean incantation bowls
once again advances the contention that as inhabitants of Mesopotamia in late antiquity
the Mandaeans were active participants in the multifaceted religious community that
thrived in that region.
The geographic and chronological connection is established by the provenance of
the Mandaean bowls. Two of the three bowls in McCulloughs study were found in at
excavation cites along the Tigris-Euphrates deltathe first in Nippur and the second in
Kammaz (a town on the left bank of the Tigris, near Baghdad).57 The additional
Mandaean bowls discussed by Yamauchi come from Nippur; Bismaya, a town south of
Nippur; and Khuabir on the Euphrates, thirty miles northwest of Musayyib and west of
Baghdad.58 The dispersal of bowls amongst these locations maps a Mandaean
community that is spread out through southern Iraq and spilling into Iran. The
appearance of a Mandaean foothold in this area along with proof of the existence of
Mandaean populations in multiple locations, speaks to the idea that Mandaeism was a
regional presence with sufficient numbers to establish communities in a variety of
locations throughout the Tigris-Euphrates delta. This encourages the notion that as the
Muslims established themselves in the various towns of southern Mesopotamian and Iran
would have been likely to encounter the Mandaeans and probably would have done so on
more than one occasion. Consequently it would seem the Mandaeans were positioned to
have regular opportunities to interact with Muslims.

57
58

McCullough, 11 & 28, the provenance of the third bowl is unknown.

Yamauchi, 77.

40

With regard to the second point, that the Mandaean bowls identify Mandaeism as
an active contributor to the religious climate of the late Sasanian Empire, this can be
observed in the cross-cultural particularities of some of the bowls inscriptions. For
example the bowl from Kammaz, labeled Bowl D in McCulloughs book, is written in
Mandaic for a Mandaic client but McCullough thinks that the writer of the inscription
may have been Jewish and not especially familiar with the tenets of Mandaean religion.
He bases this assessment on the fact that although the incantation is written in Mandaic
and the names of the people for whom the incantation is made have an orthography that
identifies them as Mandaean its incantation appeals to a series of figures: Moses; the
Metatron; and the angel Michael that are more commonly associated with Judaism.59
McCullough thinks this bowl records an instance of a Mandaean family relying on Jewish
divinities to secure their protection. Conversely in the inscription for Bowl A, a bowl
written in Jewish Aramaic by an apparently Jewish writer for a Jewish client,
McCullough notes that the verb forms are unusual for Jewish Aramaic and are more akin
to those found in Mandaic or Syriac. This is a peculiarity which suggests to him that the
author of this bowl could have been a Mandaean. This theory is reinforced by other
aspects of Bowl A. For instance, some of the divine names found in Bowl A have
orthographies which are also odd for Jewish Aramaic but have parallels in Mandaic.
Finally some of the divine names mentioned in the bowl are uncommon in a Jewish
context but are familiar to Mandaeism. McCullough specifically cites the term yrwylmy
noting that the y ending is unusual for a Jewish Aramaic word but that is in keeping with
normative endings for Mandaic names.60 All of the anomalies noted by McCullough give

59
60

McCullough, 28-38.
McCullough, 4-5.

41

the impression that although Bowl A was commissioned by a Jewish client, a distinctly
Mandaean influence seems to have worked its way into the text of the incantation.
What is interesting about both of the examples drawn from Bowls D and A is that
they are evidence of a fluidity of religious ideas amongst those composing and
commissioning incantation bowls. It seems the writers and the clients are comfortable
with the notion of drawing on the language or terminology of religious traditions other
than that of the bowls patron to create an efficacious incantation. This suggests a
familiarity among these religions. More specifically for the purpose of studying of the
Mandaeans these bowls show that practitioners of Mandaeism were most likely in
productive dialogue with Judaism. The Mandaeans both integrated the concepts of their
Jewish neighbors into their own religious practice and professed their own ideals widely
enough that they were able to have influence on believers of other faiths. The flow of
Jewish imagery into Mandaean incantation bowls and Mandaean terminology and
orthography into Jewish bowls establishes that the Mandaeans were a known to the Jews
as well as the Manichaeans. The ability of Mandaeism to exert its influence over more
than one religious tradition in southern Mesopotamia bolsters the idea that the Mandaeans
were active participants in a dynamic culture of religious exchange. Similarly the
willingness of Mandaean clients to commission a bowl that incorporates Jewish concepts
demonstrates that practitioners of Mandaeism were amenable to the process of integrating
the beliefs of others with their own religious worldview. This evidence of the movement
of religious thought into and out of Mandaeism casts the Mandaeans as a tradition
innately poised to pursue an exchange of ideas with other religions, including Islam.

42

City of Tib: A Center of Mandaean Literary Activity

The postscripts from many Mandaean texts make reference to a town known as
Tib. Now lost to the shifting geography of history, Tib was once located in the border
region between the Wasit in Iraq and Khuzistan in Iran. The town was associated with
the river Tib, north of `Amara. Gauging by the references to the town in the Mandaean
sources, Tib was probably once a decent size settlement which served as locus of
Mandaean religious thought and activity.
The idea that Tib represented a religious center for Mandaeism is based on two
pieces of information routinely mentioned in connection with Tib. The first indication of
Tibs importance is the identification of the town as a multigenerational home for a
community of Mandaean scribes. The second reason for regarding Tib as a significant
place within the worldview of the Mandaeans stems from the fact that certain significant
members of the Mandaean community are identified as residents of Tib and are credited
by Mandaean literature with establishing a major library containing Mandaeisms most
used and most highly revered texts in Tib. The association of Tib with the heart of the
scribal community and with such a prestigious library furthers the notion that this city
was a hub of religious thought and production for the Mandaean community.
Tibs connection to the scribal activity of the Mandaeans can be traced back to the
earliest strata of the communitys literature. Zazai d-Gawazata, a Mandaean scribe who
lived around 270 C.E. and who appears as the original scribe of the Left Ginza as well as
parts of the Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans, is identified as a resident of Tib.
The Left Ginza and the Canonical Prayerbook are generally regarded as some of the
oldest pieces of Mandaean literature. They are also foundational liturgical texts for

43

Mandaeism. That Zazai d-Gawazata, whom tradition holds received these texts directly
from the Lightworld, 61 is regularly identified as hailing from Tib is the first indication
that this town holds a special place in the development of Mandaean religious literature
and thought. The phrase which end the first colophon of the Canonical Prayerbook
states, and Zazai of Gawazata copied the Diwan of the First Life this is a claim that
implies Zazai had access to the original books of the supreme deity of Mandaeism, he is
the first Mandaean scribe and he is copying from the source of Mandaean religious
authority.62 Since Zazai is understood to be doing this seminal scribal work in the city
Tib it can be argued that Tib can thus be regarded as the home for the emergence of
Mandaean literature. Whether this is true or not it bolsters the image of Tib as a place of
generative importance to Mandaean religion.
A couple of generations later, sometime prior to the seventh century C.E.,
although the exact timeline is not clear, Tib again plays home to an important scribe and
ethnarch named ganda. ganda is an early copyist of some of the other parts of the
Canonical Prayerbook; the Alf Trisar uialia, another important liturgical text; as well as
many of the shorter, esoteric Mandaean writings.63 His association with these texts and
the town demonstrates that the production of critical pieces of Mandaean literature
occurred in Tib over the course of multiple generations, furthering the notion that the
town was a well established center of Mandaean thought. Also bolstering Tibs status is
the fact that ganda was an ethnarch or tribal leader for the Mandaean people. ganda is

61

Buckley (2005), 204.

Jorunn Buckley. The Colophons in The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans in Journal of Near
Eastern Studies 51 (1992): 33-50. 37.
63
Buckley (2005), 279-295.
62

44

just one a number of ethnarchs that make their home in Tib, suggesting that the town was
a locus of both religious and political authority for the Mandaeans.
Following in the footsteps of Zazai and ganda, Ramuia makes an appearance on
the list of formative Mandaean scribes associated with Tib. In one of his postscripts
Ramuia informs his readers I wrote this Diwan in the town of Tib in the years when
Anu, son of Danqa, departed with the heads of the people (ethnarchs) in the years when
the Arabs advanced.64 In addition to identifying him as a working scribe and placing
him in Tib this quote also reveals that Ramuia is writing at the time of the Muslim
incursions into the Tigris-Euphrates delta, the mid 630s C.E. Earlier in the same
postscript Ramuia mentions that 368 years have passed since Zazai d-Gawazata did his
work in the same place. Ramuia certainly appears to see himself as continuing the scribal
work that has long been associated with the town of Tib. This seems to suggest that a
tradition of scribal continuity existed in Tib from the time of Zazai d-Gawazata up to the
time of the Mandaean initial encounters with Islam.
It is also worth observing that while in Tib, Ramuia was an especially prolific
scribe during an era that saw a noteworthy surge in Mandaean scribal activity.65 Ramuia
was a self identified collector, consolidator, and creator of seminal copies of Mandaean
literature.66 His copies of key Mandaean texts were the basis for a major library
established in Tib during the middle of the seventh century and which subsequently drew
a number of Mandaean scribes to Tib to make use of Ramuias copies as the source
material for critical Mandaean writings produced during the early days of Islams
64

Buckley (2005), 192.

Ramuias name appears in connection with the Canonical Prayerbook; Masbuta d-Hibil Ziwa; Alf Trisar
uialia; Alma Riaia Rba; Alma Riaia Zuta; and Dmut Kuta.
66
E.S. Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar uialia) (Berlin:
Akademie Verlag, 1960), 434, 289.
65

45

expansion.67 The reliance of later scribes on the works of Ramuia demonstrates that
Tibs role as location for scribal activity carried on even after his death and well into the
era of the Muslim rule.
The identification of Tib as a hub for continuous scribal production, especially in
conjunction with its close connection to scribes who had formative positions in the
shaping of the core of Mandaean literature, certainly underscores the perception of the
town as a likely hotbed of Mandaean religious thought. The literary references to Tib as
the enduring home of critical scribal activity functions as evidence of a vibrant and
sustained literary center within the Mandaean community. The existence a community
such as this argues in favor of the contention that Mandaeism was a thriving, dynamic
religious force within the Mesopotamian world both before and during the time of the
Muslim conquest of the area.
It is perhaps a natural outgrowth of such a lively literary community, and still
further proof of Mandaeisms religious vitality that the major Mandaean library
mentioned above was also found in Tib. Seemingly in response to the prodigious output
of Ramuia a Mandaean woman, Haiuna, and her son, Bainai built a library that became
the primary resource of many of Mandaeism most prolific and established scribes. For
example Bayan Hibil, a priest and scribal luminary writing in the late seventh and early
eighth century C.E. drew from Haiunas collection of Ramuias books to create a copy of
a text that he disseminated to the rest of Mandaeisms priestly community with the
insistence that the priests were to take Bayan Hibils text as the definitive source on the

67

Bayan Hibil, Yahia Adam, and Ram Ziwa Bihram are a few of the well known Mandaean scribes active
in the late 600s- early 700s who acknowledge using the texts of Ramuia found in the library at Tib.
Buckley (2005), 190-192 & 207.

46

subject.68 Around this same time another scribe, Yahia Adam, insists that his copy of
part of the Canonical Prayerbook can claim absolute legitimacy because it is based on
Ramuias text, which Yahia Adam found in the library of Haiuna.69
It is also worth noting that in addition to being the patron of the often consulted
library in Tib, Haiuna is a well known scribe in her own right. Her name appears in
connection with the production of copies of the Canonical Prayerbook, Alf Trisar
uialia, Alma Riaia Zuta, Masbuta d-Hibil Ziwa, and Dmut Kuta.70 Haiuna and her son
are, like ganda before them, are also ethnarchs. This means that their library at Tib is
not just any library, it is the library of the leadership of the Mandaean community. This
is a distinction that adds even more weight to the idea that Tib represents a seat of
religious activity and authority for Mandaeism.
The implications of possessing of such a prestigious library, along with the active
scribal community associated with it are significant. For one thing these two factors
indicate that Mandaeism, by virtue of its thriving literary output, was a dynamic and
productive religious community in the years leading up to and during their initial
encounters with Islam. This activity suggests that intellectually the Mandaeans probably
would have had the disposition and the desire to explore the beliefs, imagery, practices
and so forth that the Muslims brought with them. It also shows that there existed in Tib a
society of Mandaeans armed with the tools and the desire to compare, contrast, and
maybe even reconcile Islam with their own system of thought. By virtue of its
contributions to the literary and religious culture of Mandaeism the city of Tib offers yet
another reason to think that the means, motive, and opportunity existed within the
68

Buckley (2005), 191.

Buckley (2005), 191.
70
Buckley (2005), 164.
69

47

Mandaean community to facilitate a meaningful exchange of religious ideas between

Mandaeism and Islam.
Based on their possible appearance on the stele of Kirdir; their clear influence
over the Manichaean Psalms of Thomas; their involvement with the religious pluralism of
the incantation bowls; and their establishment of a scribal and literary center in the town
of Tib the Mandaeans can be seen as leaving their mark all over the religious world of
Iraq and Iran at the close of the Sasanian Empire. There is ample reason to contend that
during this time the Mandaeans possessed a dynamic religious tradition and that the
nature of their religious life was such that Mandaeism was known to practitioners of other
religions throughout the region. There is also sufficient evidence to suggest that
Mandaeism was capable of engaging in and even encouraging the cross-cultural
exchange of religious ideas. Finally, it would seem that Mandaeism had the intellectual
and religious depth, cultivated by a thriving scribal community in Tib, to welcome the
challenges presented when encountering the belief systems of others. Taken all together
these traits construct an image of Mandaeism as a religion that is ready, willing, and able
to engage with Islam. On the Mandaean side of things the means, motive, and
opportunity were all there to encourage interaction between Mandaeism and Islam.

Making an Impression: How the Circumstances and Consequences of Islams

Spread May Have Impacted Mandaeism
Looking to the Islamic side of the equation there is a whole other set of factors
that suggest that the means, motive, and opportunity for contact between the Mandaeans
and the Muslims were also at work here. Starting again with a survey of evidence borne

48

out of geographic circumstance it is possible to discern from the historical accounts of the
Muslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire that, in terms of location, the conditions were
right for the Mandaeans and Muslims to meet. In addition to the opportunity for contact
highlighted in the evidence drawn from the map of the Muslim expansion, a discussion of
the debate surrounding the true identity of a group known as the Sbin hints at the
possibility that the early Muslims had some knowledge of the religious beliefs and
practices embraced by the Mandaeans. Finally, consideration of the precedent set by
Zoroastrian interactions with Islam, and especially the consequences that contact with the
Muslims held for the religious life of the Zoroastrians, provides a glimpse of a potentially
powerful precedent that could have supplied the Mandaeans with sufficient motivation to
pursue their own relationship with the Muslims. When these three factors are considered
together it is apparent that they all speak to the likelihood that Mandaeans and the
Muslims interacted with each other.

Muslim71 Conquest of the Tigris-Euphrates Delta

With regard to the question of the opportunity for Mandaean-Muslim interaction,
it must be established firstly that the actual, physical opportunity for such contact existed.

71

The use of Muslim here and throughout the rest of this chapter is done in the loosest sense of the word.
Scholarship has persuasively argued that the Muslims and Islam as they are now understood, did not yet
exist at the time the Sasanian Empire was overthrown. However because we lack for a succinct way to
speak of nascent or proto-Muslims I am using the terms Muslim and Islam anachronistically to refer to the
people and the religion that the Mandaeans and others encountered during the seventh, eighth, and ninth
centuries C.E.

49

Unfortunately there is no reliable firsthand accounts of the Mandaeans earliest

encounters with the Muslims, but secondary evidence from the historical records of the
Muslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire suggest that members of the two communities
probably first met sometime during the early part of the mid-seventh century C.E.72
According to these sources it was around the mid-630s C.E. that the Muslims made their
initial forays into the regions surrounding the Tigris-Euphrates. The first major incursion
into southern Iraq happened sometime between late spring of 633 and April 634 C.E.
This action resulted in the imposition of Islamic rule on regional nomadic groups and in
towns along the right bank of the Euphrates.73 After this invasion, a garrison was
established just to the west of the Euphrates in the former Sasanian stronghold, al-Hira.
By 636 or 638 C.E. the Muslims conquered al-Ubulla, a regionally important town
located at the low end of the marshlands near the Persian Gulf. This was when the
Muslims founded a regional stronghold known as al-Basra.74 The creation of al-Basra
meant that a hub of Muslim power was situated just to the west of the heavily Mandaean
populated area of Maysan in the central Tigris-Euphrates marshlands.75
As the military might of the Muslims progressed it was not long before the
Maysan marshlands, which most of the Mandaean population called home, became a
target of Islams expansion. According to the military histories, soon after the fall of alUbulla, members of a local Arab tribe now loyal to the Islamic Caliphate in Medina
recognized the strategic importance of the marshlands, as well as the relative military
weakness of its inhabitants and requested that the Caliph Umar send forces to overtake
72

Mandaean legend contends that Muhammad himself was acquainted with the Mandaeans. See E.S.
Drower, Haran Gawaita. Studi e Testi 176 (Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1953), 5.
73
Fred Donner, The Early Islamic Conquests (Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981), 174.
74
Donner, 212-217.
75
Donner, 169.

50

it. Because Sasanian efforts to defend their imperial holdings seemed to be more focused
on the central region of Iraq, where the Sasanians mounted a strong resistance to Muslim
domination, the southern marshlands were relatively under-protected, thus they fell more
easily to the Muslims and found themselves under Muslim rule by the close of the 630s
C.E.76
This brief overview of the timeline associated with the initial Islamic conquest of
Iraq indicates that starting around 633 C.E. advancing units of the Muslim army were
located in towns that neighbored the homeland of the Mandaeans. Within the span of a
decade the Muslims had established themselves as the rulers of the very land wherein the
Mandaeans resided as well as all of the area that surrounded them. Since the military was
often also the primary vehicle for missionary pursuits of Islam the establishment of a
martial presence translated into the establishment of a religious presence.77 The Muslim
military brought with it the religion of Islam, or at least the initial forms thereof. This
means that from the early, mid-seventh century onwards the Mandaean homeland also
served as a location where Mandaeism necessarily would be exposed to nascent Islam.
The opportunity for the interaction between Mandaeism and Islam would have been a
natural side effect of the Muslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire.

The Mysterious Identity of the Sbin

The next Islamically based example of a possible Mandaean-Muslim connection
speaks again to the issue of opportunity as well as that of means. The likelihood of

76

Donner, 176 & 218. Central Iran was definitively under Muslim rule by 644 C.E..
For evidence that the military was linked to missionary activity in Islam see, See The History of the
Qur`an after 632, in Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, ed. B. Lewis, V.L. Mnage, Ch. Pellat and J.
Schacht (Leiden: Brill, 1986 vol. 5), 404-405.
77

51

meaningful exchange relies on a presumption of acquaintance. While it is not absolutely

necessary for the Muslims to have been aware of Mandaeism in order for the Mandaeans
to be influence by the Muslims it certainly helps amplify the perceived quality of an
interaction between these two traditions if it can be suggested that in addition to a
Mandaean familiarity with Islam there is at least a passing recognition of Mandaeism on
the part of the Muslims.
Evidence of an awareness of Mandaeism on the part of the Muslims that could
have translated into a venue for a flow of knowledge between the two traditions emerges
in connection with a debate surrounding the identity of a group known to the Muslims by
the name Sbin. There are two notable references to this particular group in the Quran.
The first is in Sura 2:62,
Surely those who believe and those who are Jews, Christians and the Sbin,
those who believe in God and the Last Day and do right will have their reward
near their Lord; they will have no fear, neither will they grieve.
The second is a nearly identical passage from Sura 5:69,
Those who believe in the Qur`an, those who follow the Jewish Scriptures, and the
Sbin and the Christiansany who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work
righteousnesson them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.78
Both of these references to the Sbin are of significance because they classify this
group as comparable to the Jews and Christians and seem to suggest that all three of these
traditions profess beliefs that make them worthy of special consideration. According to
these verses from the Qur`an the religious ideals of the Sbin, together with the Jews
78

A third Quranic verse 22:17 also mentions the Sbin in a similar vein, Truly those who believe and
those who are Jews, the Sbin, the Christians, the Majs and those who associate [anything with Allah]
surely Allah will decide among them on the Day of Resurrection. Truly Allah is witness to everything.

52

and Christians, rendered them ahl al-dhimmi (protected people). This status grants the
Sbin relatively high esteem and carries with it certain protections against forced
conversion and freedom from persecution.
Interestingly, despite the reverence assigned to the Sbi n by the Quran, no
one, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is quite sure to whom the Sbin actually refer. The
question of the Sbin identity appears repeatedly in the work of Quranic
commentators. Al-Tabar (c. 838-923 C.E.) approaches the topic by suggesting the term
Sbin maybe derived from the root SB with the meaning to go forth or to turn.
From this al-Tabar defines sabi as an apostate or everyone who leaves a religion to
which he belongs for another. He then proceeds to consider the various groups to which
this term has been or can be applied.79 Another commentator, al-Ts (1058-1111 C.E.)
observes that the Sbin should be connected with the religion of Noah (din nh) and
that they ought to be regarded as similar to Christians but having a qibla directed
toward the place from which the southerly wind blows at midday but he does not
specify one particular group as identifiable as Sbin, listing instead a varieties of
possibilities like al-Tabar.80 Even among the commentators that do select a definite
identity for the Sbin there is no consensus. Mahmd b. Umar al Zamakhshari (10741144 C.E.) thinks they are apostate Jews and Christians who now worship angels, Fakhr
al-Din al-Razi (1149-1209 C.E.) identifies them as star worshipers, and Rashd Rid
(1865-1935 C.E.) suggests they are like Christians, but not quite the same as Christians.81
In a similar way non-Muslim academics who have studied the Quranic
references, hadith and commentaries concerning the Sbin also have arrived at
79

Jane Dammen McAuliffe, 95-96.

McAuliffe, 97.
81
McAuliffe, 98-101.
80

53

divergent opinions about the referent for the Sbin. Daniel Chwolson splits the identity
in two arguing that the Sbin are a conglomerate of Mandaeans and Harrnians.
Johannes Pedersen thinks they are not specifically Mandaeans or Harrnians, but rather
hunaf (pre-Islamic monotheists) like Abraham.82 Lady E.S. Drower maintains that the
Sbin are Mandaeans, with a distinction between the lay and priestly castes found in
the community.83 This idea is also considered by Bayard Dodge but he cautions that in
addition to the Mandaeans the term Sbin ultimately seems to have been applied to a
number of other religions.84 Jane Dammen McAuliffe and Christopher Buck also seem to
be in agreement with the assessment that the Mandaeans are among those being
designated by the Sbin but that, in addition to the Mandaeans, Sbin served as a
catch-all term for series of religious traditions.85
With all these theories as to the identity of the Sbin initially it might be
difficult to see how then references to the Sbin in the Quran imply a Muslim
familiarity with the Mandaeans. But as some of the specifics of the Islamic
commentators descriptions of the Sbin are reviewed there are indications that an
acquaintance with Mandaeism (albeit probably fractured and incomplete) played a part in
informing the Muslim understanding of the Sbin. For example al-Tss observation
that the Sbin are connected to the religion of Noah seems to resonate with the
Mandaean image of Noah as one in a series of important progenitors of humanity.
Book eighteen of the Right Ginza gives a long account of the ages of the world, including

82

Johannes Pedersen, 383-391.

E.S. Drower, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran (Leiden: Brill, 1937).
84
Bayard Dodge, The Sabians of Harrn, in American University of Beirut Festival Book, eds. Fad
Sarrf & Suha Tamim (Beriut: American University of Beirut, 1967), 59-85.
85
McAuliffe, 106. Also see Christopher Buck, Identity of the Sbin: a Historical Quest Muslim World
74 (1984): 172-186.
83

54

a detailed version of the story of Noahs ark which concludes with the assertion that after
surviving the flood um the son of Noah became the guardian of the new world, Then
the age of the world was guarded by um the son of Noah, and by his wife Nhuraita,
from who the world was again reawakened.86 Similar timelines declaring Noah or um
the leader of an age of humanity appear in books one and two of the Right Ginza.87
While these do not constitute a profession of devotion to Noah it is possible to imagine
how the relatively exalted appearance of Noah in the Mandaean timeline of humanitys
existence might lead one to classify the Mandaeans as followers of the religion of Noah,
especially if one had only a fractured or partial knowledge of Mandaean belief. So when
al-Ts calls the Sbin followers of Noahs religion he could be basing this designation
on a familiarity with Mandaean histories of ages of humanity.
A similar example of what appears to be a cursory knowledge of Mandaean belief
spilling over into Islamic descriptions of the Sbin is found in the comments of Ab lHasan Al Masud (d. 957 C.E. ). He contends that the Sbin originated with the
Egyptians and that the Sbin encountered by the Muslims are descendents of Egyptian
forbearers.88 Masuds theory of Egyptian origins actually has precedent in Mandaean
legend. According to one line of thought within Mandaean tradition the Mandaeans are
descended from the surviving relatives of the Egyptians who drown in the Reed Sea
while pursuing Moses and the ancient Hebrews.89 The belief that these Egyptians are
their ancestors is so ingrained among the Mandaeans that Mandaeism requires an annual
performance of a lofani, the Mandaean ritual meal for their ancestral dead, to honor the

86

GR 18: 381-382, Lidzbarski 409-410.

GR 1:185, Lidzbarski 28; GR 2.1:121;
88
Buck, 178.
89
See Drower (1937), 264-265.
87

55

Egyptians who drown in the Reed Sea.90 As with the connection to Noah it is possible
that Masuds equation of the Sbi n with the ancient Egyptians owes something to a
familiarity with Mandaean legend of their supposedly Egyptian origins.
Finally it is worth noting that the venerable Islamic historian al-Brn (973-1050
C.E.) acknowledges an inconsistency within Muslim sources regarding the referent for
the term Sbin. He maintains that there are true Sbin, those to whom the
Quranic verses actually refer and then there are also other religious groups, particularly
the Harrnians, which have adopted the name in order to convince the Muslims to give
them the status of al-dhimmi.91 Al-Brn distinguishes the true Sbin from their
interlopers saying that the real Sbin are,
the remnants of captive Jews in Babylonia, whom Nebuchadnezzar had
transferred from Jerusalem to that country. After having freely moved about in
Babylonia, and having acclimatized themselves to the country they found it
inconvenient to return to Syria; therefore they preferred to stay in Babylonia.
Their religion wanted a certain solid foundation, in consequence of which they
listened to the doctrines of the Magians, and inclined towards some of them. So
their religion became a mixture of Magian and Jewish elements like that of the socalled Samaritans who were transferred from Babylonia to Syria.
The greatest part of this sect is living in Sawd-al-Irq. These are the real
Sabians. They live, however, very much scattered and nowhere in places that
belong exclusively to them alone. Besides, they do not agree among themselves
on any subject, wanting a solid ground upon which to base their religion, such as

90
91

Drower (1937), 89.

Buck, 174-176.

56

a direct or indirect divine revelation or the like. Genealogically they trace

themselves back to Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam.92
It is interesting that al-Brn considers these to be the characteristics that define the
true Sbin because there are a number of ways in which these particular traits support
the notion of a connection between the Mandaeans and Sbin.
To begin with, al-Brns opening statement that the Sbin are remnants of
Babylonian Judaism has resonance with prevailing, modern, academic theories about the
original nature of Mandaeism. At some point in their writings Kurt Rudolph, Rudolf
Mauch, E.S. Drower, Jorunn Buckley and Edmondo Lupieri have all considered the
possibility that the Mandaeans are related to the Jews.93 Others, such as Daniel CohnSherbok, and Nathaniel Deutsch, have directly engaged the question of Mandaeisms
relationship to Judaism and have endeavored to prove that the former does in fact have
Jewish roots.94 It is not possible to recount here all the reasons or arguments supporting
the belief that the Mandaeans are derived from Judaism but suffice it to say that there are
linguistic, ritual, and doctrinal similarities between Mandaeism and Judaism that
encourage the theory that they are related. The appearance in Mandaean literature of
figures traditionally identified as Jewish, such as John the Baptist and Mary the mother of
Jesus, also lends credence to an initial, or superficial, association of the Mandaeans with

92

Al-Brn. The Chronology of Ancient Nations quoted in Buck, 174.

See Kurt Rudolph (1965); Rudolph (1960-1961); Mauch (1965); Rudolf Mauch, The Origins of the
Mandaeans and Their Script, Journal of Semitic Studies 16 (1971): 174-192; E.S. Drower (1937); Buckley
(2005); Lupieri, (2001). The issue of Jewish origins is also raised and challenged by Yamauchi, Gnostic
Ethics and Mandaean Origins and Svend Aage Pallis, Mandaean Studies (London: Milford, 1926).
94
See Daniel Cohn-Sherbok, The Gnostic Mandaeans and Heterodox Judaism, Hebrew Union College
Annual 54 (1983): 147-151; Nathaniel Deutsch, The Gnostic Imagination: Gnosticism, Mandaeism and
Merkabah Mysticism (Leiden: Brill, 1995).
93

57

the Jews.95 Finally, Mandaean tradition, itself, contends that Palestine, especially the
Jordon river valley, was once the homeland of the Mandaeans but that the events of
history forced them to migrate eastward to Babylonia.96 Taken together all these factors
certainly allow for the assumption that the Mandaeans are somehow related to the Jews
which dovetails nicely with al-Brns description of the real Sbin as remnants of
Babylonian Judaism and suggests that the Mandaeans in fact may be one and the same
with the Quranic Sbin.
Another reason to think the Sbin in al-Brns description correspond with the
Mandaeans is that the Muslim historian identifies the Sbin as believing they are the
descendents of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam. Enos or Anu, as he is known in
Mandaeism, plays a significant role in the mythology and theology of the Mandaeans.
According to Mandaean tradition Anu is an `uthra, a divine Lightworld being. Along
with his brothers, itil (Seth) and Hibil (Abel), he is understood to be one of a triad of
heroic, culture founding Lightworld beings.
There are a few different sets of stories that establish Anu as a leader and focal
point for Mandaean belief. One of these sets of stories concentrates on Anus image as a
95

Buck also observes the connection with King Nebuchadnezzar pointing to a Mandaean legend recorded
by Lady Drower which tells of Nebuchadnezzars preference for the Mandaeans over the Jews and his
decision to join the Mandaean community. This is potentially further proof that the group described by alBrn are Mandaean but I have some reservations about the unconditional acceptance of this evidence.
The Nebuchadnezzar story cited by Buck appears at the end of Drowers ethnographic book The
Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran and is one of a number of modern (late nineteenth, early twentieth century)
oral legends recorded by Drower. Aspects of this story have precedents in the early eighth century Book of
John but the older version of the story which the Book of John contains does not mention Nebuchadnezzar,
raising the question of how and when he came to be associated with the story. It is possible that the
modern legends reflect a long-standing even ancient tradition, one which would have been known to alBrn (circa 1048) vis--vis the Sbin/Mandaeans. On the other hand it is also possible that the
Mandaeans having become familiar with the Muslim descriptions of the Sbin as people associated with
Nebuchadnezzar eventually reworked oral retellings of the story from the Book of John to include the king.
Consequently we must read this evidence with caution but regardless of directionality it does indicate an
overlap between the Mandaeans and the Sbin. See Buck 175; Drower (1937), 282-288; and the JB 35&
36, Lidzbarski,129-138.
96
Drower, Haran Gawaita, 5.

58

Mandaean counterbalance to Jesus. The Mandaeans regard Jesus as a false prophet who
perverts and denigrates the truth of Mandaeism. In books twenty and thirty-two of the
Book of John Anu appears in opposition to Jesus as a true divine figure capable of
performing real miracles and legitimately worthy of humanitys devotion.97 In a story
from book fifteen, chapter one of the Right Ginza Anu stands against the evils of Ruha
while she is working on behalf of the Darkness to try to rule humanity. Ruha is trying to
build the city of Jerusalem for her misguided followers but Anu keeps cursing her efforts
and thwarting her plans. However when Ruha does eventually succeed in establishing
her city Anu comes down from the Lightworld, preaches to the people of Jerusalem,
converts some of them to Mandaeism, and destroys the rest of the city.98 In another part
of this story Anu is involved with identifying the two men, Jaqif and Benia Amin, from
whom the priestly caste of the Mandaeans will descend.99 A final image of Anu in
Mandaean literature pictures him as the educator of Mandaeisms premier human
prophet, Yahia. Anu is charged with the task of familiarizing Yahia with all the priestly
knowledge that he will need to act as a leader of the Mandaean people.100
The depictions of Anu found in each of these stories attests to his exalted
position within Mandaeism and more specifically his role in the establishment of primary
tenets of Mandaean belief. He is a miracle worker who inspires devotion; a preacher that
converts people to Mandaeism; the identifier of the lineage of Mandaean priestly caste;
and an enculturating teacher. All of these traits paint Anu as a central founding figure of
Mandaeism. Given these depictions it is possible to see how Anu might be read,

97

JB 20 & 32, Lidzbarski, 84-85 & 115-118.

GR 15.1, Lidzbarski, 294-300.
99
GR 15.11, Lidzbarski, 341. see Buckley (2002), 53 for reference.
100
Drower, Haran Gawaita, 5.
98

59

especially by someone outside of the tradition, as the source of Mandaeism or as the

father of the Mandaeans. This understanding of Anu, along with his brotherly ties to
Seth (itil) and Abel (Hibil) make him a reasonable match to the Enos al-Brn
associates with the Sbin. All of which lends further credence to the idea that alBrns true Sbin and the Mandaeans are one and the same.
One last detail from al-Brns description that may help single out the
Mandaeans as the tradition being described under the name Sbin is the comment that
the community is awash in disagreement, unable to come to a consensus on matters of
religious importance. Rudolf Mauch has long maintained that period between the close
of the Sasanian and the early part of Islamic rule seems to have been a particularly
dynamic time, theologically speaking, for the Mandaeans.101 There is also evidence in
the Alf Trisar uialia (The Thousand and Twelve Questions), a manual of corrections for
rituals for which the performance was flawed or marred, that there was an ongoing debate
within the priestly community of Mandaeism regarding issues of legitimate priesthood,
the correct performance of rituals, and other theological questions.102 Elsewhere,
instructions found in the postscripts to important Mandaean texts suggest the existence of
competing versions of key pieces of Mandaean literature and a need, or at least desire, to
try to establish a unified literary tradition. In some texts there are appended exhortations
to future users and copyists that the text be followed or reproduced exactly as is, with no

101

Jorunn Buckley, The Colophons in The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans Journal of Near
Eastern Studies 51 (1992): 47.
102
See E.S. Drower (1960). The evidence for discord comes from details in the text that suggest there is a
struggle for priestly power within the Mandaean community. For examples of this see 122-125, &138. As
of yet there appears to be no scholarship on the topic of whether the rules and restrictions in this text point
to discord among Mandaeisms priestly caste but I think there is reason to pursue this issue in future
research.

60

additions or subtractions.103 Mauchs observations, the evidence of conflict in the Alf

Trisar uialia, and the push for textual unity all point to a tradition in which theological
debates were percolating. Taking these factors into consideration, the Mandaeans easily
could have been described as a tradition unable to agree among themselves on any
subject, and thus once again be seen as possessing a quality consistent with the defining
traits of the Sbin.
The purpose of pointing out instances in which aspects of the Muslim descriptions
of the Sbin correspond with the details of Mandaean theology is to highlight the extent
to which the two of them overlap. It may be that the Sbin are not always or totally
congruent with the Mandaeans but it does appear that Mandaeism is at least partially
associated with the people and religion known to the Muslims as the Sbin. This is of
interest because if the Mandaeans can be linked to the Sbin then it is possible to
theorize that the Muslims had some degree of awareness of Mandaeism. More
importantly since Islamic comments about the Sbin tend to focus on the nature of their
religion there is reason to conclude that the Muslims possessed at least a cursory
familiarity with certain tenets of Mandaeism. If al-Brn is right and the Sbin that he
describes, who have so many traits in common with the Mandaeans, are the true
Sbin mentioned in the Quran then it might be said that Islamic understanding of the
Mandaeans qua the Sbin extends to the point that the Muslims were able to identify
Mandaeism as a religion comparable to Judaism and Christianity. Speculation about the
identity of the Sbin that leads to a connection of them with the Mandaeans encourages
the notion that Mandaeism and Islam were inclined to interact by suggesting that

103

Drower (1960), 434, 289.

61

acquaintance with Mandaean religion on the part of Muslims was actually realized in
Islams contact with the Sbin.

Conflict or Cooperation: A Choice of Zoroastrian Precedents

When contemplating the factors that contribute to the likelihood that a certain
degree of interaction existed between the Mandaeans and the Muslims it is instructional
to consider the example provided by the Zoroastrians and their early dealings with Islam.
Though the individual exchanges were often complex with a multiplicity of goals and
circumstances from a generalized perspective the reaction of Zoroastrianism to Islam can
be simplified to two modes of response: the Zoroastrians either tried to resist the spread
of Islam or they accepted and learned to live with it. Either response carried with it
particular consequences for the Zoroastrian community and the maintenance of their
religious belief. By looking at these consequences we can observe the formation of a
precedent for a successful (or unsuccessful) reaction to the expansion of Islam. The
nature of this precedent is such that, assuming it was also perceived by the Mandaeans, it
could have acted as a powerful motive inspiring the Mandaeans to pursue their own
relationship with the Muslims.
As the Muslims made their way into Zoroastrian territory one of the ways that the
Zoroastrians chose to respond was to oppose Islamic efforts to exert their influence over
their newly conquered neighbors. Pockets of resistance occurred throughout the
Zoroastrian world but it was most pronounced in the northern regions near the Caspian
Sea and in the central Eurasian province of Transoxania. For example, the Muslim

62

historian al-Tabar reports that when Qutayba b. Muslim succeeded in conquering the city
of Bukhara in 709 C.E., after two years of counterattacks by the Zoroastrians, his
attempts to house Muslim troops with local families was met with a mass exodus by the
Zoroastrian nobles who chose to live on the outskirts of town rather than cohabitate or
cooperate with the Muslims.104
It is interesting to note that while this hostility toward the Muslims slowed the
expansion of Islam into these areas ultimately it had largely negative consequences for
Zoroastrian religion. Opposition to Islam caused the Muslim authorities to use violence
and coercion to force the Zoroastrians to convert to Islam.105 Although these forced
conversions were often ineffective, making the Zoroastrians Muslims in name only, they
served to increase animosity between both religions, which in the long run hurt the
Zoroastrian community. The Zoroastrians contrary relationship with the Muslims
resulted in groups of Zoroastrians throwing stones at Muslims making their way to Friday
prayers at the mosque. The Muslims would then respond in kind by attacking
Zoroastrians. Soon both sides were carrying weapons and since the Muslims often
triumphed over the Zoroastrians during these exchanges the Zoroastrian community came
to live in constant fear of persecution.106
Another negative consequence that arose from this ongoing strife between the
Zoroastrians and the Muslims was a loss of Zoroastrian sacred space. A couple years
after Qutayba b. Muslim took Bukhara and the Zoroastrians abandoned the city, a
mosque was built by the Muslim commander on land which originally may have been the

104

Jamsheed K. Choksy, Conflict, Coexistence, and Cooperation: Muslims and Zoroastrians in Eastern
Iran During the Medieval Period, Muslim World 80, 3-4(1990): 213-233, 223.
105
Choksy (1990), 223-224.
106
Choksy (1990), 227.

63

site of a Zoroastrian fire temple.107 If a fire temple did in fact become a mosque this
would have meant a religious center of Zoroastrian was actively desecrated and the
ability of the Zoroastrian community to perform the required religious rituals would have
been seriously limited if not altogether lost. This affront to the ritual practice of
Zoroastrianism taken together with the constant fear of persecution and forced conversion
suggests that hostility towards Islam and a refusal to cooperate or coexist with the
Muslims had dire consequences for the religious life of the Zoroastrians.
On the other, hand not all Zoroastrians adopted an oppositional stance towards
Islam. In part because the military and political domination by the Muslims happened so
quickly and completely the Zoroastrians in the Tigris-Euphrates region were generally
unable to mount a significant resistance. For this reason, along with some mutually
beneficial economic considerations, a relatively peaceful environment of coexistence
developed between these Zoroastrians and Muslims.108 The trend toward peaceful
coexistence was encouraged by Muslim authorities including the Caliph Umar who,
according to later reports, instructed his generals to preserve the status of Zoroastrians
they encountered and that after the Muslim authorities had given practitioners of
Zoroastrianism the opportunity to convert to Islam should they chose to remain
Zoroastrians they had only pay the proper tax and then that action constitutes granting
them protection.109 There are also records of numerous treaties from the early period of

107

Choksy (1990), 225.

Another factor at work in favor of peaceful coexistence in both this region and the nearby area of
Khuzistan is that of multiculturalism. These are areas where the Zoroastrians lived along side Jews,
Christians, Buddhists, and a number of other small religious groups like the Mandaeans. Consequently the
introduction of Islam, though it was connected to a change in political leadership, may not have caused a
major disruption to the already diverse religious climate. See Jamsheed K. Choksy, Conflict and
Cooperation: Zoroastrian Subalterns and Muslim Elites in Medieval Iranian Society (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1997), 31-32.
109
Choksy (1997), 16.
108

64

Islamic expansion that attest to the Muslim preference taxation rather then military might
or repression as a way to establish future cooperation and coexistence with the
Zoroastrians.
In contradistinction to the negative impact Zoroastrian hostilities to Islam
produced for Zoroastrian religion in the northern regions of the former Sasanian Empire
the attitude of coexistence assumed by the southern Zoroastrians produced mainly
positive effects for Zoroastrianism. To begin with the Zoroastrians who had good
relations with the Muslims lived without the fear of persecution that plagued their
Transoxanian brothers and sisters. The treaties initiated by the Caliphs indicated that the
Zoroastrians receive a certain degree of protection from the Muslims. It also seems that
these Zoroastrians were allowed to continue to freely practice their religion. Although
conversions occurred and were encouraged by Muslim missionary activity, Zoroastrians
in the Tigris-Euphrates and Khuzistan regions were not forced become Muslims.110 And
unlike the apparent co-option of the fire temple for the construction of a mosque in
Bukhara, southern Zoroastrianisms congenial stance towards Islam meant that many of
the ritual and religious centers in this part of the Zoroastrian world continued to exist and
be operational throughout the first four centuries of Muslim rule.111
The priestly caste of the Zoroastrians, the magi were also able to obtain
permission from the Muslim authorities to continue in their position of leadership over
the southern Zoroastrian community.112 Along similar lines, Zoroastrianism likely
benefited from the fact that their higher ranking clerics had their status as sources of
religious authority (re)affirmed when local Muslim rulers turned to the magi for advice.
110

Choksy (1990), 217.

Choksy (1997), 33.
112
Choksy (1997), 31.
111

65

An example of Muslim reliance on the wisdom of the Zoroastrian priests can be found in
a story from the Muslim authored Tarikh i Sistan (History of Sistan). According to this
text Rostam i Mihr, a Zoroastrian theologian, is said to have been consulted by Abd alAziz b. Abd Allah b. Amir, the Muslim governor of Sistan.113 Evidence of productive
dialogue between a Zoroastrian theologian and the ranking local representative of
Muslim Empire indicates that opportunities for the exchange of religious ideals existed
and even may have been encouraged in the wake of the Muslims expansion into Iranian
(and Mandaean) territory. The willingness of the Sistani governor to engage with the
Zoroastrian priesthood makes it plausible to imagine that other traditions, including the
Mandaeans, may have also enjoyed occasional audience with their new Muslim
neighbors. At times the conditions must have been right for the flow of religious
ideology between the Muslims and the indigenous populations of their conquered lands.
The close relations between the Zoroastrians and Muslims produced one more
outcome which also seems to reflect positively on the status of Zoroastrian religion. The
cooperation of Zoroastrians and Muslims appears to have facilitated official intellectual
discussions about religion amongst luminaries of the two traditions. The late eighth
century C.E. saw the sponsorship of cross-cultural symposia by the Abbasid vizier
Yahya b. Khalid al-Barmaki. These meetings were convened to allow members of the
various Islamic sects and Zoroastrian magi to conduct debates on both religious and
secular topics. A few years later the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun again invited the
Zoroastrian high magnus, Adurfarrobay i Farrokhzdan, to take part in a theological

113

Choksy (1997), 34. Choksy notes that the veracity of this story is bolstered by the existence of other
similar stories elsewhere in Islamic literature.

66

dialogue the Caliph had arranged with Muslim clerics.114 These examples suggest that
the Muslim leadership and religious authorities were willing and interested in promoting
a culture of lively exchange of Zoroastrian and Islamic religious ideas. The act of
inviting individuals well versed in the theology of Zoroastrianism to engage in
conversation with Islamic clerics creates the impression that the Muslims were curious
about Zoroastrian belief and interested in comparing or even trying to equate it with their
own. This is a significant indication that the early purveyors of Islam seemed to think
that there may have been some value in familiarizing themselves with the tenets of
Zoroastrian thought. It also suggests that the Muslims were willing to respect and draw
upon the religious intelligence of their non-Islamic neighbors.
The message derived from the two types of responses the Zoroastrians had to the
Muslims is clear: mount an opposition to Islam and Zoroastrian religion suffers for it,
conversely establish a cordial relationship with the Muslims and be allowed to continue
to practice, even promote, Zoroastrianism in peace. It would be hard for anyone
observing the consequences of the Zoroastrians hostile and congenial approaches to the
spread of Islam to miss the lesson they offer. In the case of the Mandaeans it is uncertain
whether they would have been aware of the antagonistic situation that existed between
the Zoroastrians near the Caspian Sea and in Transoxania. It is certainly possible that
word of the violence between the two communities could have traveled southward to the
regions in which the largest concentrations of Mandaeans were located. Had they known
what befell the Zoroastrians of Bukhara the Mandaeans would have been confronted with
a compelling example of the problems that could arise for a religion that failed or refused
to make an effort to find a common ground on which to meet the Muslims. The desire to
114

Choksy (1997), 31.

67

avoid the fate of the northern Zoroastrians could have served as powerful motivation for
the Mandaeans to seek to engage in a meaningful religious dialogue with the practitioners
of Islam.
But even if the Mandaeans had little knowledge of the dire impact resistance to
Islam had on the practice of Zoroastrianism to the north, it is reasonable to assume that
they were well positioned to observe the positive effect the cooperation employed by
Zoroastrians in the Tigris-Euphrates delta and Khuzistan had on Zoroastrianisms status
as a religion. The Mandaeans lived besides the Zoroastrians that chose to work with
rather than against Islam. Practitioners of Mandaeism could very well have had first
hand knowledge of the benefits that accrued to Zoroastrianism when it acceded to a life
of mutual coexistence with Islam. Knowing how well the religion of their Zoroastrian
neighbors faired as a consequence of a positive relationship with the Muslims could have
been a persuasive precedent with the potential to govern Mandaeisms own decisions
about the nature of its interaction with Islam. It is possible to regard the example set by
the Zoroastrians as an argument for why the Mandaeans would have been especially
predisposed to establishing some type of interaction with Islam.
The factors associated with the location and nature of Mandaeism in the Sasanian
Empire the path of Islams expansion; Islams familiarity with the Sbin; and the
consequences modeled by Zoroastrianism rejection or accommodation of a relationship
with Islam coalesce to create a strong argument for the likelihood of Mandaean-Muslim
interaction. The opportunity for the two traditions to come into contact was facilitated by
the establishment of the Muslims military presence in and around the homeland of the
Mandaeans during the 630s C.E. The Muslim interest in the Sbin, who seem at least

68

on certain occasions to be akin to the Mandaeans, suggests that the Muslims may have
had a knowledge of Mandaeism that included special attention to discerning the religious
nature of the tradition. The accounting for the religious ideas that may or may not have
justified the Sbin/Mandaean claim to al-dhimmi status shows that the means for an
exchange between the Mandaeans and Muslims was brewing. Finally, the Zoroastrians,
or more specifically the precedent set by their encounters with the Muslims offers a
potential motive for Mandaeism to engage Islam. Taken together all these factors
bespeak an environment that seems to encourage, and maybe even attest to the actuality
of exchange between Mandaeism and Islam.

Mandaeism and Islam: Seeing the Beginning of a Productive Pairing

Because the tendency has been to overlook the explanatory potential of including
Islam in the discussions of the development of Mandaeism I have labored here to
emphasize the idea that exchange between the Mandaeans and the Muslims was not only
possible it was probable. A number of conditions aligned that appear well situated to
prompt and inspire the Mandaeans to reach out with their religion to the Muslims and
conversely for the Muslims to probe the depths of Mandaeism. From a geographic and
chronological perspective both traditions were in the right place, at the right time to meet.
Mandaeism demonstrates both the outward projection of their ideas amongst other
traditions and inner dynamism. This suggests that immediately prior to and during
Islams emergence Mandaeism was a religious tradition that was both actively engaged
with the world around it and actively developing itself. Both of these conditions make
Mandaean religion ripe for the possibility of meaningful interaction with Islam. The

69

Muslims likewise seem willing to engage, assess, and develop relationships of

theological exchange with the religions that it encountered during the course of its
expansion. All of these things support the belief that Mandaeism and Islam possessed the
means, motive, and opportunity to know of and about each other and that this translated
into a chance for the religious ideas of both traditions to exert some level of influence
upon each other.
The likelihood that Mandaeism and Islam were ideally poised to engage with one
another suggested by the evidence presented here means that it would be ill advised to
continue to discount the role of Islam in the development of Mandaeism. Accordingly in
the chapters that follow we will begin to consider the possibility that Islam influenced the
shaping of key elements of Mandaeism. From its application to a broadly drawn look at
the influence of Islam on the shaping of Mandaeisms literary tradition to more particular
examples of Islams ability to illuminate the specificities of important figures in
Mandaean religious narrative it will become apparent how the inclusion of Islam in the
study of Mandaeism serves only to improve our understanding of the nature of Mandaean
religion.

70

Chapter 3
Making a Case for a Connection between Islam and Mandaean
Literature
In the course of recounting the consequences of the Muslim conquest of the
Sasanian Empire the multivocal narrator of the Haran Gawaita digresses from what is
primarily a military history to include the tale of a high ranking Mandaean, Anu, son of
Danqa,115 and his efforts to introduce a Mandaean Book to the Muslims. As with many
other parts of the Haran Gawaita this narrative is somewhat fractured and a few of the
characters meld together but it is still possible to trace the thread of a story which asserts
Muhammad was presented with the central religious text of Mandaeism for the express
purpose of earning ahl al-dhimmi (protected) status for the Mandaeans.116 The story
begins by revealing that soon after Muslim forces vanquished the Sasanians in Iraq Anu,
son of Danqa, made his presence known within the Mandaean community and that he,
perhaps with the accompaniment of his namesake Lightworld being, Anu-`uthra,
journeyed to Baghdad in order to present the Mandaean Book to Muhammad,
Then, when all this had taken place, in time there came (one) Anu, called the son
of Danqa from the uplands of the Araiiaand he took him from his city to Suf115

While Anu, son of Danqa, does not appear on the list of ethnarchs found in the Mandaean prayer to
their ancestors one Mandaean scribe, Ramuia, does link Anu to the ethnarchs, I wrote this Diwan in the
town of Tib in the years when Anu son of Danqa departed with the heads of the people (ethnarchs). This
suggests that even if Anu is not an ethnarch he is closely associated with the leadership of the Mandaean
people. Buckley (2005), 306-307.
116
The historicity of this is event is questionable though not inconceivable, however if such a presentation
of Mandaean literature to the Muslim authorities did occur it is unlikely that the book was actually given to
Muhammad, a more probable candidate would be a lower ranking regional representative of the Muslim
government or if it was truly given to the leader of the Muslim Empire then the recipient may have been
one of the early Abbasid caliphs. History aside the narrative is more compelling if it is Muhammad, the
ultimate Muslim authority who receives the book and it would seem from the details in the story itself that
accurate or not we are supposed to believe Muhammad was the recipient.

71

Zaba which is called Basrah, and showed him the hill-country of the Persians
(unto?) the city of Baghdad. And Anu (-`uthra)117 instructed the Son-ofSlaughter [Muhammad]118, as he had instructed Anu, son of Danqa, about this
Book (compiled) by his fathers, upon which all kings of the Nasoraeans stood
firm. And a list of kings is in this book, which teachth (chronicleth?) from Adam,
king of the world unto King Artabanus, (yea even) unto Anu, son of Danqa, who
were (all?) of the Chosen Root [Mandaean].119
According to the next section of the Haran Gawaita Anu, son of Danqa presented
Muhammad with this Book, which Drower opines was most likely the Ginza, with the
specific intent of garnering protection from the Muslims. 120
Then he told him [Muhammad] about the king of the Ardubaiia (Sasanians);
about all he sought to do and (of) his connections with the children of the great
Nation of Life [Mandaeans], in order that they (the Moslems) should not harm the
Nasoraeans who lived in the era of his [Muhammads] government.121

117

The text does not specify whether this is the human Anu, son of Danqa or the Lightworld Being AnuUthra. Drower adds `uthra to the text and speculates that it is the latter perhaps because of the third person
identification of Anu, so of Danqa and his instruction later in the sentence but I would point out that
everywhere else in this passage and in the one that follows the text only mentions the human Anu, son of
Danqa as the actor in this exchange with the Muslims. In fact, except for Drowers questioning
(questionable) insertion of Uthra into this sentence the Lightworld being does not appear anywhere in the
story, which leads me to wonder if he is actually associated with the story or if the story really is all about
Anu, son of Danqa and that the grammatical oddities that accompany his appearance are just the product
of the dramatic language of storytelling.
118
The association of Muhammad with murder, death and destruction is a common trope in the Ginza. See
GR 3; and GR 9.1.
119
E.S. Drower, The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil Ziwa, Studi e Testi 101. (Vatican City:
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1953), 15. (Hereafter HG) . The italics are as they appear in the text. They
are insertions or alternative translations contemplated by Drower.
120
She bases this identification on the notion that the Ginza Rba contains a list rulers like the list of kings
used to describe the book introduced to Muhammad. Drower, HG 15 fn 10. However the Canonical
Prayerbook also contains such a list and since it is the primary liturgical text of Mandaeism it would also
be a reasonable choice of books to present to the Muslims in an effort to secure religious legitimacy. See
Drower, CP 170, 151-154.
121
Drower, HG 16.

72

The narrator of the Haran Gawaita is so intent on insisting that the moral of this story is
that the Mandaeans ought to be spared from harm by virtue of their Book that the call
for protection based on the Mandaeans possession of a sacred book is reiterated in the
next line,
Thus did Anu, son of Danqa explain and speak so that, through the power of the
lofty King of Lightpraise be his name!it was not permitted to the Son-ofSlaughter, the Arab, to harm the congregation of souls, owing to the protection
afforded by the explanation of the Great Revelationpraised be its name!122
It is clear from these passages that this is a story of Mandaeism using its literature to
seek, and justify the receipt of, the status of a protected religious minority from the
Muslims.
In the passage following this repeated emphasis on the protection afforded to the
Mandaeans because they possessed this particular book, a first person narrative voice
bears witness to the antiquity, efficacy, and superiority of the book which is now called
the Great Revelation of Mandaeism. The narrator affirms that the Great Revelation
is the source of Mandaean orthodoxy and it is the sole expression of the true message of
the divine,
For it is reliable, existing from ancient times and eternally, from the beginning of
the eighth world unto the worlds end. (These are) writings which teach orthodox
procedure, that are all clarity. Instruction about the beginnings of all light and the
end of all darkness is found in these writings of the Great Revelation and not
found in any other books.123

122
123

Drower, HG 16.
Drower, HG 16, emphasis in text.

73

The Great Revelation, as it is portrayed here, echoes Muslim descriptions of the nature
the divine message recorded in the prophecies of the Qur`an. For example, in describing
the revelations of the Quran Surah 26:192-195 says,
Verily this is a revelation from the lord of the worlds: with it came down the spirit
of faith and truth to thy heart and mind that thou may admonish in the perspicuous
Arabic tongue.
As the uncorrupted word of Allah the Quran like the Mandaean Great Revelation is
the reliable word of the divine and reveals the correct (orthodox) way to worship.
Everything the Haran Gawaita tells us about the Mandaean Great Revelation
corresponds markedly with Islamic standards for what constitutes a legitimate holy book.
The description of Mandaean Great Revelation in a manner that echoes Muslim
claims about the Quran continues in the next paragraph of the Haran Gawaita where the
Lightworld being Hibil Ziwa the explains that whosoever adheres to the message taught
in these writings will receive the rewards of great faith,
Then Hibil Ziwapraised be his name!taught that every man who concealeth it
[from those who wish to corrupt it], but observeth it, when his measure is full he
will rise up without sin and (moreover) will loose and take with him sixty (souls)
who are bound.124
This account of the benefits accrued to those that embrace the Great Revelation also
has parallels in the closing verses of Surah 26 in which, after cataloging the punishments
that will befall those that reject the revelation of the Quran it is promised that believers
in the revelation will be exempted from harm,

124

Drower, HG 17, emphasis in text.

74

Shall I inform you, (oh people), on whom it is that the evil ones descend? They
descend on every lying, wicked personexcept those who believe, work
righteousness, engage much in the remembrance of Allah.125
Although the Mandaean passage focuses on extolling the benefits of loyalty to the divine
message while the Muslim Surah highlights the dire consequences of ignoring true
revelation they are making the same point, namely that there is great religious authority
in their respective books and if one knows what is best for them they will acquiesce to the
power these revelations contain. This is a telling expression the truth and efficacy
Mandaeism wants to associate with their religious literature. It gives the Mandaean
message the tenor of being the ultimate expression of divine will and like the comments
before seems tailored to argue that Mandaean literature is worthy of Muslims
expectations for a holy text.
At this point the Haran Gawaita discontinues its exaltation of the virtues of the
Mandaean Book and returns to the task of plotting the timeline of Mandaean history,
revealing that the Muslim military victories were followed by the age of Arab Law
which is the Haran Gawaita notably also identifies as the apocalyptic last epoch of
humanitys time on earth.126
One of the many fascinating things about the story of the Anu, son of Danqa and
all the attendant disquisitions on merits and benefits of the Mandaean Book is that it is
telling evidence that Mandaeism has a tradition of thinking about their literature through
a framework that appears to correspond with Islamic expectations about what constitutes
a true holy book and consequently a legitimate religious tradition. While it remains open

125
126

Surah 26:221-222 & 227.

Drower, HG 18-19.

75

to debated whether or not the Mandaeans were actually counted among the groups
originally designated ahl al-kitab (people of the book), the contents of these passages
from the Haran Gawaita demonstrate that presumably sometime soon after the Muslim
conquest the Mandaeans had a fairly nuanced understanding of what it meant to be ahl
al-dhimmi or ahl al-kitab and that Muslim perception of ones literature was a critical
aspect of how one attained this title.127 The image of Mandaean literature, proffered by
the Haran Gawaita, as a text worthy of acquiring protected status for the Mandaeans
along with the emphasis on the primacy of the divine message recorded in the Mandaean
writings gives the impression that the Mandaeans were engaged in efforts to present an
image of their literature that conformed with Islamic expectations for the role and
character of true religious literature. It is also the first of many indications that the
formative literature of Mandaeism, especially in terms of its development into the corpus
of texts now associated with Mandaean religion, was at least partially impacted by the
Mandaeans exposure to Islam.
In the chapter that follows I want to consider a variety of other factors that
likewise serve as evidence that knowledge of Islam and the need to negotiate
Mandaeisms relationship with this new religion influenced the formation of Mandaean
literature. There are details surrounding the composition dates of key Mandaean texts, as
well as in the internal commentary about the nature of Mandaeisms literary corpus, and
finally from the content found in some of these texts that strongly suggests that the

127

Scholarly opinion differs as to whether the Mandaeans officially achieved ahl al-kitab status during their
early encounters with Islam. Mauch thinks they did but others are less certain that the Mandaeans could
lay claim to this distinctions. See Mauch (1965), 186. For questions about the designation of the
Mandaeans as people of the book see Christopher Buck, The Identity of the Sbin. Muslim World, 74
(1984), 172-186 and Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Exegetical Identification of the Sbin, Muslim World,
72 (1982), 95-106.

76

development of Mandaean literature owes something significant to Mandaeisms

exposure to Islam and consequently that Islam deserves a place in the discussions of the
religions that contributed to nature of Mandaeism.

Positing the Early Islamic Period as a Formative Time for Mandaean Literature

One of the first signs that Mandaeisms exposure to Islam may have had an
impact on the nature of Mandaean literature occurs in conjunction with what appears to
be the emergence of a unified textual tradition in Mandaeism that takes place during the
early stage of Islamic expansion. One of the things about Mandaean literature that has
frustrated scholars is the uncertainty that surrounds the original composition of Mandaean
writings. In various studies dates ranging from as early as the last couple centuries B.C.E.
to as recently as the seventeenth century C.E. have been proposed as periods during
which Mandaean literature took shape. Increasingly conscientious study of Mandaean
texts has ruled out the extremes on either end of this speculative timeline while tending
towards the conclusion that the composition dates for most Mandaeans texts are situated
broadly within late antiquity, 200-700 C.E.128 There is good reason to believe that some
components of Mandaean literature existed as early as the third century C.E.129 But what
appears more certain is that during the late seventh century, at about the same time as the

128

For an overview of the various dating of Mandaean literature see inasi Gndz, The Problem of the
Nature and Date of Mandaean Sources, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 53 (1994), 87-97.
Also see Buckley (2005), 297-314.
129
This idea is promoted by Buckley and Mauch, see Buckley (2005), 210-224 & 275-297. It is also
suggested in the work of Torgny Sve-Sderbergh, Studies in the Coptic-Manichaean Psalm-Book
(Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksell, 1949). Also see Kurt Rudolph (2004), 2.

77

Muslims were beginning to position themselves as a ruling force throughout

Mesopotamia and the Sasanian Empire, there was a development within the body of
Mandaean literature that would have a lasting impact on the nature of Mandaean religion.
Plotting a framework that attempts to outline the formation of Mandaeisms
literary tradition can be a daunting task. To begin with Mandaeism, despite its minority
status, has succeeded in producing an impressively vast and diverse collection of
writings.130 A study of all the factors involved with the composition of all the individual
works that make up the Mandaean corpus would be a project in itself and unfortunately
far beyond the scope of what is intended here. Instead our focus will be limited primarily
to two texts: the Ginza and the Book of John, with occasional references to other
Mandaean sources as they prove informative. The decision to concentrate on the Ginza
and Book of John derives firstly from the relative importance of these books to Mandaean
religion. Both the Mandaeans and outside scholars identify these two books as the
central devotional and theological texts of Mandaeism.131 The second reason for
directing attention on the Ginza and the Book of John is because their largely narrative
content provides a number of stories with ample (and sometimes vaguely familiar)
material useful for comparing Mandaeism with Islam.
Another factor that complicates the framing of a timeline for the development of
Mandaean literature is the composite nature of most of the major Mandaean writings,
including the Ginza and the Book of John. Like the Hebrew Bible and Christian New
Testament, the Ginza and the Book of John are conglomerates of often thematically and
structurally distinct tractates which were composed at different times and only later
130

For a list and description of the corpus of Mandaean literature see Buckley (2002), 10-16 and Lupieri,
53-58.
131
See Buckley (2002), 10-11 & 13 and Lupieri, 54-55.

78

strung together to form a singular text.

In the case of the Ginza, the linguist and scholar

of Mandaeism, Mark Lidzbarski, who has produced one of the few translations of this
text from the Mandaic, used the appearance of a few formulaic Mandaean phrases that
commonly indicates the conclusion of a text to identify twenty-one separate tractates,
eighteen of which make up the Right Ginza (hereafter GR) and three are found in the Left
Ginza (hereafter GL)132, in the original Mandaic Ginza manuscripts.133 Lidzbarski uses a
similar process of looking for formulaic conclusions to divide the Book of John into
thirty-seven tractates.134 The multiplicity of tractates that make up the Ginza and the
Book of John means that the various parts of these books do not all date to the same
period. In fact Buckley, building on the work of Rudolf Mauch, has persuasively argued
that portions of certain tractates, and especially the material found in the GL, were
composed as early as 270 C.E.135 There is much to be learned about Mandaeism by
tracing the segments of its literature that date to this earlier period in antiquity136 but as
with the narrowing of our focus to the Ginza and the Book of John there is value to be
had in limiting this study to a consideration of the period in time when the disparate
writings of Mandaeism became the unified texts known as the Ginza and the Book of
John. Mandaeism as it has come to be professed and practiced relies on the whole of
texts of the Ginza and the Book of John for its foundational beliefs, thus it makes sense to
132

Structurally the Ginza is interesting because it is always written in scroll form so that the content of the
GR is written down the right side of the scroll and then the scroll is inverted 180 degrees so that the GL can
be written up the left side.
133
See Lidzbarski (1925), introduction.
134
Interestingly only one of those tractates, number 6, is about the eponymous John, known as
Yahia/Yuhana in Mandaic. The naming of the entire book after Yahia, despite his relatively limited
presence in the text as a whole has lead Lidzbarski to speculate that Yahia was singled out specifically
because he, as John the Baptist, was already familiar to and accepted as a prophet by the Muslims. See
Lidzbarski (1915), 70-75.
135
See Buckley (2005), 280-281. Regarding the possibility that parts of the JB are older than generally
believed see Buckley, A Re-Investigation of The Book of John, ARAM 16 (2004): 13-23.
136
See for example Buckleys speculation about the origins of Mandaeism see Buckley (2005), 315-342.

79

direct our interest in these writings to the stage when they first appeared as cohesive
works of literature.
Pinpointing the exact date of the Ginzas emergence as a unified text is
complicated. Unfortunately there are no accounts of its first instance of assembly or even
the process by which its many texts became one. Instead what we have is a complex
puzzle built of contingent parts which when carefully studied together give a persuasive
approximation of the general period during which the Ginza came into existence. To
piece together the timeframe during which the components of the Ginza were
transformed into a singular text the first thing to know is that nearly all Mandaean texts
are accompanied by an appendix of scribal names, or colophon. The Mandaean
colophons include a list of the scribes responsible for copying a particular text from the
time of its inception; biographical information about the scribes as well as the persons
responsible for commissioning copies of the text throughout time; and occasional
editorial comments about circumstances of the community at the time a given copy was
produced. It is expected that when a scribe makes a new copy of a text he or she will
include all the information found in the colophon of the text from which they are making
their copy. This makes the colophons an indispensible source of information about the
Mandaeans across the centuries. Looking over the records of the scribal names it is
possible to sketch a history of when, where, and how a text was copied and transmitted.
The colophons traces the scribal lineage of a manuscript from its most recent copyist
backward through time to the first scribe believed to have produced a copy of that text
(i.e. Scribe Z copied the text from the manuscript of Scribe Y who copied it from Scribe

80

X and so forth until the list arrives at Scribe A who served as the source of the text).137
The extant Ginza manuscripts all have seven colophons which appear in the same place
in every manuscript. The first colophon comes at the end of the thirteenth tractate of the
GR, the second colophon after tractate fourteen, the third at the end of tractate fifteen, the
fourth after tractate sixteen, the fifth at the end of tractate seventeen, the sixth after
tractate eighteen and the seventh at the end of the three tractatesnineteen through
twenty-onethat make up the GL. 138
Buckley discusses in great detail the many names and scribal lineages, as well as
their historical implications for the Mandaean community, of all seven colophons as they
appear in each of the various known Ginza manuscripts in her book The Great Stem of
Souls.139 Drawing upon the wealth of information that she provides in this work it is
possible to identify the terminal scribes of the Ginza manuscripts along with the
circumstances under which they were operating and from this derive parameters for
estimating the dates of the Ginzas initial compilation.
According to Buckleys research, the first colophon of every Ginza ends with the
scribe Ram ilai.140 Most of the second and third colophons terminate with either a trio
of scribal brothers: adan, Banan, and Bihram, sons of Brik Yawar, or a single scribe
known as Qaiam, son of Zindana.141 Knowing that these five individuals appear in the
final position of the first three colophons of the Ginza is significant because encoded in
all these names are points of reference that help determine the timeframe during which
the conglomerated text of the Ginza came into being. Based upon Ram ilais
137

See Buckley (2005), 2-4 for a more detailed description of Mandaean colophons.
Buckley (2005), 19.
139
See Buckley (2005), chapters 2-4.
140
Buckley (2005), 27.
141
Buckley (2005), 28-29
138

81

genealogical relationships to the other four scribes whose period of activity can be
independently verified, Buckley has been able to conclude that Ram ilai worked as a
copyist sometime during, or immediately before, the mid-seventh century C.E.142 The
terminal scribes of colophons two and three, adan, Banan, and Bihram, sons of Brik
Yawar, and Qaiam, son of Zindana, can also be dated to around 650 C.E. or a little later
based on their connections to Ram ilai and other scribes. For example, the text of the
first colophon from the Paris Ginza manuscript A143 explains that Qaiam, the final scribe
on the list in colophon three, made his copy of tractates one through thirteen from a
manuscript of that text given to him by Ram ilai.144 The same colophon likewise notes
that Qaiam possesses a book from Bayan Hibil, a well known and prolific Mandaean
scribe who also happens to be another son of Brik Yawar, the father of the three scribes,
adan, Banan, and Bihram, who are found at the end of colophon two.145 In other words,
Qaiam has direct connections with both the Ram ilai and the family of Brik Yawar,
indicating that the final scribes for colophons one through three of the Ginza are all
operating within the same milieu. This means that the terminal points for the first three
of the Ginza colophons fall somewhere in between the latter part of the seventh and the
early eighth centuries C.E. The fact that these colophons consistently end with scribes
active sometime between approximately 650 and 750 C.E., along with the fact that the
colophons for tractates sixteen through eighteen terminate with scribes are dateable to a
couple generations after the initial scribes of colophons one through three indicates that at
its earliest the initial compilation of the Ginza most likely took place during the late 600s

142

Buckley (2005), 27.

See Buckley (2005), chapter 2 for a discussion of the Paris manuscripts.
144
Buckley (2005), 51.
145
Buckley (2005), 51.
143

82

C.E and that at its latest the full text of the Ginza seems to have existed between 700 and
750 C.E.146
Within Mandaean tradition the notion that the Ginzas compilation belongs to
sometime around 650 C.E. is supported by a frequently found notation in the Ginza
colophons that states that Ram ilai copied from the first father.147 The first father is
most likely a reference to a Lightworld being, perhaps even the supreme Mandaean deity,
who is sometimes called the Father of Greatness, the First Life, or Life. The use of this
phrase implies that Ram ilai got his text directly from the Lightworld, which makes him
the source of origin for the text in the earthly realm. The formulaic inclusion of this
information in connection with Ram ilais name at the end of the colophon list seems to
be intended to reinforce the idea that Ram ilai is the official and indisputable starting
point for the transmission of the written Ginza. This gives the impression that even
Mandaeism recognizes the mid-seventh century, vis--vis Ram ilai, as an important
formative moment in the development of the Ginza as a text.
The only colophon to push the scribal activity related to the Ginza further back
into antiquity is number seven which appears at the end of the material that comprises the
GL. This colophon ends with scribes dateable to around 200 C.E.148 It is fairly well
accepted that the GL expresses some of the oldest tenets of Mandaean theology and that
the material found here predates much of the rest of the Ginza.149 Yet when trying to
establish a date of origin of the Ginza as a whole the antiquity of the GL does not detract

146

In the Paris Ginza Ms. A colophon 4 ends with Anu Mailia; colophon 5 ends with Yahia Sam; and
colophon 6 also ends with Yahia Sam. According to Buckley both of these scribes belong to generations
that post-date Ram ilia, Qaiam and the other early Ginza scribes. Buckley (2005), 29-31.
147
Buckley (2005), 59. Similar quotes also appear in Buckley (2005), 51 & 86-87.
148
Buckley (2005), 36-37; 54.
149
Buckley (2005), 280.

83

from the perception of the Ginza as a product of the late 600s C.E. Rather the content of
the seventh colophon actually seems to support the notion that the seventh century marks
a crucial moment in the emergence of the Ginza as a text. A review of the scribal list
recorded in colophon seven reveals that Qaiam, son of Zindana, who we previously
highlighted as an important link between the early scribes the first three colophons, also
functions as a connecting point between the GL colophon and those from the rest of the
Ginza. In the seventh colophon from the Paris Ginza manuscript A the scribal list that
terminates in the early 200s with an unnamed copyist who is identified as the father of
lama, daughter of Qidra150, moves forward through the next few generations of scribes
listing otherwise unfamiliar names until it reaches Qaiam, son of Zindana.151 Starting
with Qaiam and continuing into the modern age the scribal list for colophon seven
generally mirrors that of colophon one.152 This paralleling of scribal lists from the first
and last Ginza colophons suggests that whereas the material that makes up the GL may
have had a life of its own prior to the mid-seventh century there came a pointseemingly
facilitated by Qaiamin the late 600s that the content of the GL and the rest of the Ginza
were linked and transmitted as a singular entity. Despite its roots in a date from earlier
antiquity, the seventh colophon indicates that sometime around 650 C.E. what may have
been a previously independently circulating text of the GL seems to have been integrated
with the other parts of the Ginza. This corroborates the notion that the second half of the
seventh century marks a watershed moment in the formation of the Ginza as a composite
text.

150

Buckley (2005), 54.

Buckley (2005), 53-54.
152
Buckley (2005), 49-53.
151

84

Evidence supporting the idea that Mandaean literature experienced a significant

period of development between approximately 650 and 700 C.E. is not confined to the
Ginza colophons. A study of the colophons associated with the Book of John indicates
that this text, which is arguably comparable with the Ginza in terms of theological
importance to Mandaeism, also seems to have been formulated during the waning years
of the seventh century C.E. As she has argued with regard to the antiquity of some of the
material in the Ginza, Buckley contends that some parts of the Book of John may have
been composed as early as the third or fourth century.153 Nevertheless most scholars,
Buckley included, maintain that the entirety of the work known as the Book of John is the
product of Mandaean scribal activity undertaken near the end of the seventh century
C.E.154
One of the factors that contributes greatly to the placement of initial appearance
of the Book of John within this late seventh century C.E. timeframe is the information
gleaned from the colophons of the extant Book of John manuscripts.155 Each of the Book
of John manuscripts have only one colophon and the colophons for all but one of the
manuscripts studied by Buckley end with a scribe named Sku Hiia. The Book of John is
the only piece of Mandaean literature in which Sku Hiia is specifically listed as a scribe
but this does not mean that Sku Hiia is unknown within the rest of the colophonic world.
To the contrary, although Sku Hiia does not appear as a copyist for the Ginza he can be
found in the Ginza colophons in the role of the initiator/father156 for an early Ginza

153

See Buckley (2004), 13-23.

See Lidzbarski JB v-xxx; Kurt Rudolph, Die Mandische Literatur: Bemerkungen zum Stand ihrer
Textausgaben, in Zur Sprache und Literatur der Mander, Studia Mandaica 1, ed. Rudolf Mauch
(Berlin: de Gruyter, 1976), 147-170.; Yamauchi, 4-8; and Buckley (2002), 13.
155
Buckley identifies and briefly describes eight known manuscripts of the JB, Buckley (2005), 226.
156
Sometimes these roles are distinct, other times they are blended.
154

85

copyist named Haiaum.157 Based on Haiaums position in the Ginza colophons

Buckley concludes he is a younger contemporary of Qaiam, son of Zindana and that he is
probably a little older than Bayan Hibil, the brother of the early Ginza scribal trio,
adan, Banan, and Bihram.158 Sku Hiia, by virtue of his father/initiator relationship with
Haiaum, is likewise identified as engaging in scribal activity around or a little before
Qaiam. This timeline places Sku Hiias work around about the mid-650s C.E. or maybe a
little later. Since the colophons for the Book of John usually terminate with Sku Hiia it
can be said that the Book of John was most likely compiled by Sku Hiia in the late
seventh century C.E.
Further proof that Sku Hiia and the copies of the Book of John produced by him
definitely belong to the same prolific and transformative late seventh century C.E. scribal
community that also produced the early copies of the Ginza comes from in the colophon
attached to the Book of John manuscript known as DC 30. The chain of transmission
recorded in this colophon reveals that Sku Hiias copy of the Book of John was jointly
copied by Qaiam, son of Zindana, and Bayan Hibil.159 The appearance of these two
copyists in the penultimate scribal position of a Book of John colophon bolsters the
notion that the production of this text was occurring around the same time and as part of
the same milieu that surrounded the compilation of the Ginza.
Even the one Book of John colophon which does not end with Sku Hiia concludes
in such a way as to reinforce this association with the scribal community of the late 600s
C.E. The colophon for a Book of John manuscript that is privately owned by Lamea
Abbas Amara, a Iraqi Mandaean poet and daughter of a Mandaean priest now living in
157

Buckley (2005), 29
Buckley (2005), 234.
159
Buckley (2005), 229.
158

86

San Diego, traces the lineage of its copyists back to Ram Ziwa Bihram, a scribe who
happens to be the son of Bayan Hibil, and the grandson of Qaiam, son of Zindana.160
Although Ram Ziwa Bihram is the last named scribe in the list it is really his grandfather,
Qaiam, who actually appears to occupy the final scribal spot. An editorial remark in the
colophon reports that it is from the scroll of the father of his mother, namely Qaiam,
that Ram Ziwa Bihram generates his copy of the Book of John.161 Based on Ram Ziwa
Bihrams connection to Bayan Hibil and Qaiam, as well as the texts apparent ultimate
origin with Qaiam this colophon can also be regarded as tracing the initial production of
the Book of John to the mid-seventh century C.E.
Since the evidence suggests that the most of colophons for both the Ginza and the
Book of John reach their conclusion sometime between 650 and 750 C.E. it is likely that
this period marks the earliest record of the compilation of these text. This is not to say
that the material found in the Ginza and the Book of John did not exist prior to this time
but rather that the mid-seventh to the early eighth centuries C.E. encompassed an
important formative moment in the history of the development of Mandaean literature. It
was during this time that previously disparate Mandaean writings seem to have been
transformed into the unified texts that endured as the fundamental works of Mandaean
religion. Even though the mid-seventh and eighth centuries C.E. ought not to be regarded
as the point of origin for Mandaean literature it must be recognized as a significant
juncture if the development of Mandaean literature. The colophons suggest that this was
the time when texts like the Ginza and the Book of John emerged as the literary vehicles
for the expression of the core tenets of Mandaeism.

160
161

For more on Lamea Abbas Amara see Buckley (2002), chapter 2.

Buckley (2005), 240.

87

That this major transformation in the nature of Mandaean literature occurred at

this particular moment in history, just when the Muslims were beginning to formulate
their beliefs and assume position of the regions new ruling power has important
implications for the theory that a familiarity with Islam had an impact on the
development of Mandaean literature. Prior to this time all the evidence suggests that
Mandaean literature existed as a body of unaffiliated texts. Even though the Mandaeans
resided in an environment that saw the Zoroastrians and Christianity move towards
canonization during the third through fifth century C.E. there is little in the colophons to
suggest exposure to the formation of authoritative literary corpuses in either of these
religions sparked a contemporaneous interest in literary consolidation among the
Mandaeans. Rather it was not until about a generation after the Mandaeans would have
had their first contact with the Muslims that there is clear evidence of the emergence of a
desire for a structured presentation of their literature by the Mandaeans. The
convergence of the timeline of the Ginza and the Book of Johns creation and that of the
growing religious influence of the Muslims prompts speculation that these events were
not mutually independent. Presumably something had to happen in order to inspire the
Mandaeism to alter the format of its textual tradition and the timing of that alteration
certainly suggests that a new familiarity with Islam could have been at least partially
related to that change.

Text Made Canon: Stories about Emerging Authoritative Textual Traditions among
the Mandaeans and Muslims

88

The colophons help establish a timeline of composition for works of Mandaean

literature such as the Ginza and the Book of John that makes it possible to date the
emergence of the earliest copies of these texts to beginning stages of Islamic rule. This in
turn invites the speculation that Mandaean encounters with Muslims acted as a catalyst
for the transformation of the unstructured individual pieces of Mandaean writing into
amalgamated wholes. Were it only that the scribes producing the first copies of the
Ginza and the Book of John can be shown to be working during the late seventh century
C.E. the idea that this was a period of conscious consolidation of Mandaean literature
would probably remain circumstantial. However there is additional information in the
colophons, specifically in post-scripts authored by the scribes copying the texts, that
reveals that the same copyists that are responsible for transmitting these important works
of the Mandaean literary tradition were also often preoccupied with the notion that it was
their personal duty to ensure that disparate pieces of Mandaean literature were collected,
vetted for authenticity, and then transformed into a standardized text which would benefit
all Mandaeans. The articulation of these goals by early Ginza and Book of John copyists
corroborates the idea that the period of the Muslims early expansion into the Mandaean
homeland overlapped with an active desire on the part of the Mandaeans to create a
uniform textual tradition. The self-confessed yearning for uniformity within Mandaean
literature coming immediately on the heels of Mandaeism exposure to Islam certainly
contributes to the likelihood that the formulation of the Ginza and the Book of John owe
something to Islam. But what is perhaps even more compelling proof of a connection
between this development in the nature of Mandaean literature and the influence of Islam
is that in expressing this move towards a codified corpus of Mandaean literature the

89

Mandaean scribes seem to parallel a cotemporaneous effort within Islamic society to

create an authoritative tradition of religious literature.
A noticeable upsurge in Mandaean scribal activity, as well as a self reflexive
preoccupation with the legitimacy and ordered dissemination of Mandaean literature,
occurred following the arrival of the Muslims in Mesopotamia. Comparing evidence of
scribal production dating to the early Islamic period to that of other stages in Mandaean
development, Buckley observes that there is a significantly higher amount of
simultaneous copying happening between 650 and 750 C.E. Texts are not being copied
once a generation, as is often the case during other periods, rather during this fifty year
span which corresponds with the beginning of the Muslims reign a number of scribes are
producing multiple copies of a variety of works. The colophons record the existence of a
practice which Buckley calls copying in circles wherein the copying of a single text
circles back and forth between different scribes within the same generation.162 Notably
some of the scribes belonging to these copy circles are Bayan Hibil, adan, Banan,
Bihram, Qaiam, Brik Yawar, Ram ilia, Ramuia, Haiaum, and Sku Hiia, all of whom
are associated with the early production of the Ginza or the Book of John.
This increase in scribal activity seems emblematic of a corresponding internal
increase in the interest in and emphasis on the material being copied. The fact that the
Mandaean scribes active during the early Islamic period were so busy copying and
recopying the texts of the Ginza and the Book of John suggests that this is a moment in
Mandaean history when concern for these particular works of literature was especially
pronounced. There seems to be great demand for these texts implying that the
significance of this literature was at the forefront of Mandaean consciousness. The
162

Buckley (2005), 28.

90

attention given to the Ginza and the Book of Johnas evidenced by the intensity with
which they were copied and recopiedimplies that this literature enjoyed a heightened
level of importance within the Mandaean community at this time. Based on this
evidence, the late seventh century C.E. stands out as a time when Mandaeism was
actively engaged with thinking about its literature and the nature of its presentation.
Interestingly during this period of apparent heightened attention to Mandaean
literature the colophons also reveal that some of the most prolific scribes were
simultaneously grappling with a need to establish the legitimacy and orthodoxy of the
texts they were copying and disseminating. In a postscript to a colophon of the
Canonical Prayerbook, which like the Ginza and the Book of John experienced a surge in
scribal interest during the late seventh century C.E., Bayan Hibil recounts that he has
undertaken a survey of all available Mandaean texts and fortified with this knowledge he
proceeds to record the most legitimate versions of the texts,
I purified myself when I got possession of these mysteries. And I myself traveled
around and went on foot to Nasoraeans163 and took many diwans [scrolls] place to
place. And nowhere did I find mysteries as reliable as the Mysteries of Baptism
and Oil of Unction. I have written them here and have distributed them to a
hundred Nasoraeans, so that they may hold on to and be staunch to them.164
The underlying message in this passage is that while Bayan Hibil was active as a scribe
multiple, perhaps even competing, versions of Mandaean texts were in circulation and he

163

This is the term that Mandaean literature uses to refer to the priestly class of the Mandaeans.
Drower CP, 71-72, (this passage is also quoted in Stem, 190-191). Oddly Buckley introduces this
passage by suggesting Bayan Hibil lived just at the cusp of Islam or that he is even pre-Islamic, which
does not make sense given that elsewhere she repeated identifies Bayan Hibil as active around the 700s,
although this may be a nascent period for Islam it does postdate the time when Islam, including traditional
elements of Islamic theology are demonstrably presence in the former Sasanian Empire.
164

91

regarded it as part of his scribal duty to collect those texts, assess their legitimacy and
produce a singular authoritative version of them that was then to be disseminated among
the priestly caste of the Mandaeans. By his own admission he is attempting to codify and
institute an official edition of the text. This postscript specifically advises future
Mandaeans to faithfully maintain and follow the text he has provided. According to
Buckley, Bayan Hibil even exhorts his fellow priests to adhere to his version165; advice
which indicates that he wants his copy of the text to be regarded as the standard for the
religious leadership of the community. Bayan Hibils comments demonstrate a clear
desire for the establishment of something like textual and doctrinal orthodoxy within
Mandaeism.
The move towards producing an orthodox standard for Mandaean literature is
perpetuated in the works of Ram Ziwa Bihram, an initiate and son of Bayan Hibil, whose
postscript to a different Canonical Prayerbook colophon threatens, dire consequences
for anyone removes zharas166, changes the texts, cuts off part of the copy, or removes the
name of the owner.167 This admonition echoes the curse found at the end of the
Christian book Revelation,
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds
to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone
takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away the

165

Buckley (2005), 191.

Zharas are the Names inserted in the copy of the text to identify the individual(s) for whose benefit the
text was copied.
167
Drower CP, 72.
166

92

that persons share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in
this book.168
Both warnings invoke the notion of a closed text, or at least a writing which has received
authoritative sanction and which therefore no one may rightfully alter or amend. The
postscript written by Ram Ziwa Bihram reveals that the desire to assign Mandaean texts
the status akin to a closed literary tradition was of obvious concern to the Mandaean
scribes operating during the early period of Islamic rule. Like his initiator, Bayan Hibil,
Ram Ziwa Bihram seems intent on establishing a singular, unalterable version of
Mandaean literature which would constitute a fixed and official literary tradition for the
Mandaeans.
At roughly the same time as Bayan Hibil and his initiate/son, Ram Ziwa Bihram,
were advocating for orthodoxy and a closed tradition the scribe Ramuia assures
Mandaeans that after careful study he too has assembled disparate Mandaean writings
and produced from them a singular scroll meant to benefit future Mandaean priests,
When I wrote this Diwan169 it was in separate treatises. I wrote them down and
collected these reliable mysteries one by one, and combined them into fourteen
writingsI have preserved it so that its beauty, fame and honor may be yours,
and forgiveness of sins [sic].170
Here again a scribe who is known to be working in the aftermath of the Muslims
expansion in to the Mandaean homeland is acknowledging his efforts to transform a
supposedly disorganized mass of Mandaean texts into a coherent, unified whole.
168

Rev. 22:18-19.
He is referring here to a text known as the Alf Trisar uialia (A Thousand and Twelve Questions) which
is clearly a composite text dealing primarily with instructions to priests for the correction of ritual errors.
170
Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar uialia) (Berlin: Akademie
Verlag, 1960). 434, 289.
169

93

Moreover he regards the production of a singular, composite text as a boon for the
Mandaean priesthood. The beauty, fame and honor of the text produced by Ramuia will
accrue to the priests in a way that appears to grant them forgiveness for their sins.
Ramuias postscript indicates that he sees his efforts to unify Mandaean literature as a
way to advance the underlying strength of Mandaeism.
As the testimony of Bayan Hibil, Ram Ziwa Bihram, and Ramuia demonstrates
the urge to move Mandaean texts towards a canon-like corpus of literature is a recurrent
theme among scribes at work during the early Islamic period. That a widespread concern
for consolidation and refinement of Mandaean literature should appear in the generations
that were the first to know and interact with the Muslims is interesting not just because of
the circumstance of its timing but also because the desire for textual uniformity and
authenticity expressed by the Mandaean scribes bears certain tantalizing similarities to
the circumstances associated with the emergence of an officially sanctioned literary
tradition among Muslims.
Pinning down an accurate account of the early Muslims move towards an
authoritative literary tradition remains a point of debate within scholarship on Islam.
Islamic doctrine maintains that the Qur`an is a compilation of the revelations Muhammad
received throughout his lifetime. Muslims claim these revelations initially circulated
orally throughout the community and were arranged in to written, textual form either near
the end of the Prophets life or soon after his death.171 Scholars dispute the veracity of
the Muslim account of the Qur`ans origins. For example, Wansbroughs detailed study
of the Qur`an has led him to conclude that the focal religious text of Islam developed
slowly over the course of much of the Eighth and the Ninth centuries (approximately 150
171

Fazlur Rahman, Islam. 2nd Edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002), 30-33.

94

years or more after Muhammads death) and that the text is an amalgamation of diverse
material from distinct Muslim communities in Arabia, Iraq, and Syria.172 Fred Donner
and William Graham generally concur with Wansbroughs theory but suggest that the
process of compilation may have taken less time than Wansbrough proposed.
Consequently they think the Qur`an reached its present form sometime in the middle of
the 700s.173 Crone also places the emergence of the Qur`an in the 700s though she
notes that there is some evidence that version of the Qur`an, or at least parts of it, existed
by the very end of the Seventh century.174 Even allowing for the earliest date offered by
Crone, scholarship on the Qur`an identifies the text as a composite of early Muslim
voices rather than a product of ongoing revelation and situates its composition at least
two generations after the death of Muhammad. This understanding of the Qur`an differs
radically from received tradition.
If scholarly theories about the timeframe and process of the Qur`ans actual
development are correct then we have an interesting parallel with Mandaean literature. It
would seem that the nascent Muslim community was attempting to refine and define their
authoritative literature at about the same time as the Mandaeans appear to be motivated to
produce fixed versions of key texts such as the Ginza, Book of John, and the Canonical
Prayerbook. Whether one tradition was directly influenced by the other is difficult to
discern but the redactive activities of the Mandaeans and Muslims between the Seventh

172

Wansbrough. Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1977), 1-51.
173
Fred Donner, 37; and William Graham. Review of John Wansbrough, Qur`anic Studies. Journal of
the American Oriental Society 100, (1980): 137-141.
174
Crone, 18. This does not necessarily contradict Wansbrough who also believes that parts of the Qur`an
are certainly older than the text as a whole. Wansbrough (1977), 33-38.

95

and Ninth century indicates that members of both communities felt a powerful impulse to
produce authoritative versions of their respective religious literature.
By itself the shared timing of the Mandaean and Muslim push towards a fixed
source of textual authority would be an interesting coincidence but not conclusive
evidence of any shared influence. It is the narrative parallels that emerge from a
comparison of the stories that the Mandaeans, Muslims, and, in some cases, others tell
about the process of redaction that raises the possibility that the Mandaeans and the
Muslims may have been familiar with one anothers efforts to formulate a fixed textual
tradition.
On the Muslim side of the equation there are two stories of particular interest: the
first is that of the scribal pursuits of al-Hajjaj and the second are the tales surrounding the
creation of the Uthmani Codex. Both of these stories need to be considered in
comparison with excerpts from the Mandaean sources.
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Kulayb was an early Muslim governor of Iran, who is
often credited with helping to establish the authority of the Umayyad Caliphate in
Mesopotamia, as well as replacing Middle Persian with Arabic as the administrative
language for the region.175 He is known to Muslim sources as one of the people involved
with early distributions of the Qur`an or as the individual responsible for creating the
system of diacritical marks that made it easier to understand written Arabic. However, it
is a story about al-Hajjaj reported by a Christian source that is of most interest in
comparison with Mandaean accounts of the formation of their literary tradition. In a
letter supposedly written by Pope Leo III to Umar II, the Pope calls the Muslims
175

Richard Frye, Abdolhussein Zarrinkoub. Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4, (Cambridge: University of
Cambridge, 1975).

96

hypocrites for suggesting translations of Christian texts have altered the meaning of the
text and thus corrupted the word of god because the Muslims are also known to have
redacted their sacred writings.176 Leo III specifically cites al-Hajjaj as an example of a
Muslim who engaged in the supposedly proscribed activity of editing Islamic texts.
According to Leo III, al-Hajjaj had men gather up your [Muslim] ancient books, which
he replaced by others composed by himself, according to his taste, and which he
propagated everywhere in your nation 177 In his commentary on the letter, A. Jeffery
identifies Leo IIIs description of al-Hajjaj as polemically minded Christian recasting of
Muslim accounts of al-Hajjajs actual involvement with the early development of the
Qur`an. Jeffery also notes that the image of al-Hajjaj as an active redactor of Muslim
literature seems to have been well known throughout the Eastern Christian community.178
Even if the Christian understanding of al-Hajjajs relationship to the sacred
writings of Islam is tinged with polemical overtones the very suggestion that Eighth and
Ninth century Eastern Christians were circulating a description of al-Hajjaj as a
prominent Muslim who gathered, rewrote, and distributed the corpus of Muslim literature
is striking because it offers a couple possible points of intersection between the
development of an authoritative body of literature within Mandaeism and Islam (or at
least perceptions of Islam). The Christian accounts of al-Hajjajs activities give the
impression that other religions saw nascent Islam as a tradition concerned with mapping
the contours of its literary canon. Independent of any direct contact with the Muslims the
Mandaeans could have been exposed to the idea that Muslims regarded the formation of a
176

The date of the letter (and thus its veracity) is unclear. It may have been authored in the Eighth century
but it could be as late as the Ninth or Tenth century. See A. Jeffery, Ghevonds text of the
Correspondence between Umar II and Leo III Harvard Theological Review (1944): 275-276.
177
Jeffery, 289.
178
Jeffery, 289 fn48.

97

carefully defined textual tradition as constitutive of the authority of a religion. This

perception of Islam could have inspired or more likely reinforced an existing movement
within Mandaeism to refine their own literature.
The intriguing coincidence of the parallels between the redactive activities of alHajjaj and those of Mandaean scribes, Bayan Hibil and Ramuia adds to the sense that the
Christian stories of al-Hajjaj may be somehow related to the process that led to the
formation of the Mandaean canon. We have already cited colophons attached to major
pieces of Mandaean literature which credit Bayan Hibil and Ramuia with initiating
standardizing reforms of Mandaean literature.179 These colophons record a series of
actions supposedly taken by the Mandaean scribes that follow a pattern similar to that
which Christian sources claim al-Hajjaj took in the course of his dealings with the
religious texts of Islam. Like Christian descriptions of al-Hajjaj, Bayan Hibil and
Ramuia are presented as religious and political authorities who first gather or survey
circulating religious literature, then they author a new writing, and finally they arrange
for their text to be dispersed among the community at large. The process by which the
Mandaean colophons suggest Bayan Hibil and Ramuia arrived at their versions of key
pieces of Mandaean literature mirrors, step by step, the trajectory Christians associate
with the early development of Islamic religious literature. The similarities between the
Mandaean colophons and Christian accounts of al-Hajjaj do not necessarily imply that the
Mandaeans were motivated by Muslim precedent when the Mandaeans undertook the
task of unifying and formalizing their religious literary tradition but it does raise the
possibility that the Mandaeans may have been familiar with stories circulating among
non-Muslims about how Muslim literature developed and that they may have used these
179

See pp. 21-23 above.

98

stories as models for framing accounts of how Mandaean literature likewise assumed an
authoritative form.
The other story about the creation of a canonical literary tradition in Islam
which has resonances with Mandaean sources is the narrative about the formation of the
Uthmani Codex. Islamic stories about the origins of the official written version of the
Qur`an indicate that sometime under the reigns of either the first Islamic caliph, Abu
Bakr (r. 632-634) or the third, Uthman (644-565), a scribe known as Zayd ibn Thabit was
assigned the task of compiling a written copy of the Quran. In one version of the stories
about the origin of the written Quran, the Muslim leadership becomes concerned that the
battle related deaths of many first generation Muslims has seriously diminished the
number of people able to recite Muhammads prophecies from firsthand memory,
consequently a written text is needed in order accurately preserve all the of the Qur`an.
Zayd ibn Thabit, because he was a scribe to Muhammad, is called upon interview the
remaining recitators in order to collect all the fragmentary pieces and memories of the
revelations and fashion an official written version of the text out of them.180 In the other
story about the origin of the written Qur`an a dispute breaks out between Muslim forces
in Iraq and Syria regarding the proper recitation of the passages of the Quran that are
said during daily prayers. This debate prompts a high ranking general to request that the
Caliph provide the military with an official written version of the Qur`an. As it does in
the other version of this story, this job again falls to Zayd ibn Thabit, who Uthman places
in charge of a commission responsible for gathering, evaluating and collating all the
available Qur`anic material so as to produce a single text. When this task is completed

180

See The History of the Qur`an after 632 in Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition. ed. B. Lewis, V.L.
Mnage, Ch. Pellat and J. Schacht (Leiden: Brill, 1986, vol. 5), 404-405.

99

Zayd ibn Thabit makes several copies of the official written version of the Qur`an, gives
one to the caliph Uthmanthus it comes to be known as the Uthmani Codex, distributes
others to Islamic strongholds in Kfa, Basra, Damascus, as well as maybe Mecca, and
then orders all competing versions destroyed.181
Scholarship on the Qur`an and the early history of Islam has challenged the
veracity of this narrative with regard to its standing as an accurate account of the actual
emergence of the written version of the Qur`an. As mentioned earlier, analysis of the
Qur`an places the date of its composition somewhere between the Eighth and Tenth
century, well later than the early to mid-600s timeframe implied by the Uthmani Codex
narrative. It is likely therefore that the story of the Uthmani Codex reflects an idealized
rather than historical look at the formation of the religious literature of Islam. However
for the purpose of comparison with Mandaeism the accuracy of the story told about the
creation of the Uthmani Codex does not matter. What is important is that this is the story
Muslims came to tell about origin of their written literary tradition suggesting that the
events outlined in this story served as the accepted model within parts of the Muslim
community for explaining how the written canon of Islamic emerged. When the details
of the model at the heart of the Uthmani Codex narrative are compared to Mandaean
sources it becomes clear that many of the thematic concerns about the formation of an
authoritative textual tradition which are driving the Uthmani Codex story are also
expressed in the Mandaean colophons.
The plotline of the stories about the origins of the written Qur`an follow a pattern
that is likewise apparent in the colophon postscripts found attached to Mandaean
literature. First there is the admission that multiple versions of an important religious text
181

The History of the Quran after 632, 405.

100

are circulating within the community. The first Islamic story only obliquely references
this idea (multiple recitators) but the second story cites it explicitly noting that the very
need for an official written Qur`an is predicated on the internal strife within the military
that is caused by competing versions of the Qur`an. Among the Mandaeans the existence
of variant renditions of the text is confirmed by Bayan Hibil and Ramuias claims that in
the course of their travels throughout Mandaean community they found multiple copies
of the text in which they were interested. The second step in the overlapping pattern is
for a trusted, high ranking, scribe to assume the responsibility of collecting,
authenticating, and collating the available material. This is what Zayd ibn Thabit does
when he interviews the remaining recitators of the Qur`an or leads the commission in
charge of gathering and evaluating the all the fragments and memories of the Qur`an. On
the Mandaean side the comments of Bayan Hibil and Ramuia similarly indicate that it
was part of their scribal duty to assess the gathered copies of their text and produce from
them a reliable version. Since Bayan Hibil and Ramuia are some of the first and most
prolific Mandaean copyists they, like Zayd ibn Thabit, who was identified as the scribe to
Muhammad, can claim to be especially closely positioned to the supposed source of their
literary traditions. The third shared element in the Muslim and Mandaean accounts of
their arrival at an official textual tradition is that of distribution. Once an authentic
version of the text is produced, it is disseminated to centers of religious authority and
from there to the community at large. Zayd ibn Thabit sent his text to Kfa, Basra,
Damascus, and Mecca, cities where Muslims were developing cultural strongholds and
from which Muslim envoys were dispersed to the rest of the growing Muslim world.
Bayan Hibil made sure that his writing was distributed to a hundred Nasoraeans and the

101

context of the post-scripts for both Ram Ziwa Bihram and Ramuia suggest that the
Mandaean priesthood was also their intended audience for their texts.182 Following
Mandaean tradition it would then be the duty of the priests to integrate the texts into the
religious life of the lay Mandaeans. The Mandaean scribes therefore have also seen to
the proper distribution of their texts. The last element of the pattern found in both the
Muslim and Mandaean tradition is the assurance that the texts produced and authenticated
by the chosen scribe represent the final and authoritative version of that piece of
literature. The Muslim story accomplishes this with the assertion that once Zayd ibn
Thabits Uthmani Codex was distributed all other editions of the written Qur`an were
destroyed. The Mandaean scribes achieve a similar sense of textual authority and finality
through the words of Ram Ziwa Bihram when he warns against making any additions or
subtractions to his copy, effectively closing the text.
The adherence to this four step pattern by the Muslims and Mandaeans shows that
the Mandaean scribes were undertaking the task of redacting Mandaean literature in a
manner that accords with the narrative of the Qur`ans creation as it was set forth in the
traditions about the Uthmani Codex. That the Mandaeans may have been inspired by
Muslim example is made even more plausible by the fact that the stories about Zayd ibn
Thabits project place the production of the Quran between 644 and 656 C.E. (the years
of Uthmans reign), a period approximately contemporaneous with the time of Ramuias
operation and immediately prior to Bayan Hibil and Ram Ziwa Bihram.183 Given this
timing, all three scribes potentially could have had firsthand knowledge of Muslim
traditions about the efforts to officially organize and distribute their sacred text, in
182

Drower CP, 71-72

According to Buckley Ramuia was active around 638 C.E.; Bayan Hibil around 700 C.E.; and Ram
Ziwa Bihram in the generation after Bayan Hibil or 720-730 C.E. Buckley (2005), 380-383.

183

102

addition to an awareness of the significance that Islam assigned the need for an official
and inerrant literary expression of the divine message. This would have given the
Mandaeans a powerful Islamic precedent for needing and developing an official literary
tradition within Mandaeism. Based on the overlap between the Muslim stories about the
origins of the written Qur`an and the colophon postscripts in the Mandaean literature
there is reason to think that the push for consolidation within Mandaean literature that
produced the composite texts of the Ginza and the Book of John came about in part as a
response to Islams own tradition regarding the emergence of its literary tradition.

Hints of Islamic influence on the Content of the Ginza and the Book of John
Along with the mid to late seventh century C.E. compilation dates suggested by
the colophons and the possibility that the consolidation of Mandaean literature that
produced texts like the Ginza and the Book of John was predicated by Islamic stories
about the emergence of an official Islamic literary corpus, some of the content found in
both the Ginza and the Book of John also supports the belief that negotiating challenges
presented by the Mandaeans growing familiarity with the Muslims was a motivating
factor in the development of both texts. Interspersed amongst the cosmogonies,
anthropogonies, myths, legends, apocalypses, and theological teachings that comprise
much of the Ginza and Book of John are occasional references to Muhammad, Muslims,
and Islam. The variety of ways that Mandaean literature mentions topics associated with
Islam makes it apparent that the Mandaeans often had a notable working knowledge of
some of the key concepts that eventually became defining aspects of Islamic theology
and that the Mandaeans were, at times, concerned with understanding and explicating the

103

theological relationship that existed between themselves and their new Muslims
neighbors.
Allusions to Muslims and Islam in the books of the Right Ginza (GR) take a
multitude of forms.184 Some of the most common are just brief references, the content of
which acknowledges a familiarity with Muhammad and his role in the promulgation of
Islam. For example, in the context of giving an overview of world history by plotting the
circumstances associated with the emergence of the worlds religions GR 1:203185 reports
that after Judaism and Christianity, Then came Ahmat, son of the sorcerer Bizbat. He
propagates a shout that is not a shout, thus he does much evil in this world and leads the
stock of souls186 astray, into error.187 These two sentences succinctly outline
Mandaeisms basic understanding of Islam. Ahmat, one of the many variations on
Muhammads name found in Mandaean literature188, is the founding purveyor of Islam
and Islam is a false religiona shout that is not a shoutthat presents the danger of
causing members of the Mandaean communitythe stock of soulsto convert to the
false teachings of Islam. In the course of this passage the Mandaeans have demonstrated
that they have a basic understanding of Muhammads role in Islam and the missionary
goal of the religion. Although it is not particularly detailed this is an accurate description
of two of the basic tenets of early Muslim belief.

184

GL being pre-Islamic does not have Islamic reference.

Citations from the Ginza are given by book number and verse (i.e. GR X:YYY), sometimes a section
number will be given prior to the verse (i.e. GR X. Z:YYY) but since not every book is divided in the same
manner not all citations include a section number. For clarity in the footnotes I will also give the page
number(s) from Lidzbarskis translation of the Ginza.
186
The stock of souls is a phrase commonly used in Mandaean literature to designate the Mandaean
religious community.
187
GR 1:203, Lidzbarski, 30.
188
He is also known as Mhamat, M(u)habit, Muhammad, Abdula/Abdala/Abdallah, and Son of the Arab
Butcher.
185

104

What makes this brief mention of Islam more notable is that in addition to
demonstrating that the composers of this section of the Ginza were clearly writing
sometime after the spread of the Muslims to the regions of the Sasanian Empire, this
description of Muhammad and Islam offers an interesting first glimpse into the ways in
which the Muslims entered into and impacted the literary imaginations of the Mandaeans.
The denunciation of Islam as a false religion, which brings with it evil and the specter of
Mandaean apostasy, reveals that the Mandaeans regarded Islam to be one of the
misguided faiths introduced to humanity by the ambiguously defined but often
problematic spirit being, Ruha.189 From the Mandaean perspective associating the
Muslims with Ruha effectively relegates Islam the same undesirable category as Judaism
and Christianity. Like these other religions, Islam is a shout or message that purports
to be from the divine but is actually a product of the Darkness rather than an expression
of the truth from the Lightworld, consequently it cannot be a true shout.
There is, however, something about the false shout of Islam that prompts the
Mandaean narrator to worry that it possesses the danger of causing Mandaeans to
misguidedly convert to Islam (and leads the stock of souls astray, into error). The
concern the text shows for the possibility that something about Islam might appeal to the
Mandaeans suggests that the Mandaeans had at least a cursory awareness of Islamic
doctrine. The Mandaeans seem to know the teaching of Islam at least well enough to be

189

Ruha is a complicated figure within Mandaean mythology. She ambiguously inhabits both positive and
negative roles but with regard to the issue of non-Mandaean religions it is the latter, negative manifestation
of Ruha that is identified as the source, or mother, of these false and misleading faiths. For more on Ruha
see my MA thesis, Three Times a Lady: The Tripartite Image of Ruha in Mandaean Literature,
Claremont Graduate University, 2000 and Buckley, A Rehabilitation of Spirit Ruha in Mandaean
Religion, History of Religions 22, no. 1 (1982), 60-84.

105

concerned that familiarity with those teachings held the potential to lure some of their
fellow religionists away from Mandaeism and into the practice of Islam.
In the course of a few lines, GR 1:203 identifies Islam as predatory faith, armed
with the ability to corrupt practitioners of Mandaean religion. The Mandaean are thus
compelled to describe Islam as one of the many false religions created by Ruha to act as
competition against the true belief of the Mandaeans. This assessment of Islam indicates
that the Mandaeans regarded the Muslims as naturally predisposed to be a source of
antagonism for the Mandaeans . The Mandaeans ought to steel themselves against the
theological challenges presented by Mandaean encounters with the Muslims. GR 1:203
offers Mandaeans a plausible and theologically acceptable explanation for Islam while
also warning that it is a system of belief that could pose certain challenges that the
Mandaeans ought to be prepared to counteract. This is a telling first look at how and why
familiarity with Islam became a factor in shaping the content of Mandaean literature.
In another brief reference to Muhammad the text of the Ginza demonstrates that
the familiarity with which Islam was treated in Mandaean literature extended beyond the
basic recognition of Muhammads foundational role and the religious rivalry Islam posed
to Mandaeism to a more nuanced grasp of fundamental aspects of Islamic belief. The
description of Muhammad given in GR 2.1:164 bespeaks an image of Muhammad that
reflects then developing notions of Muhammad as the seal of the prophets,
After all the prophets a prophet will rise up from the earth. The Arab prophet
comes and rules over all the peoples. Thus wretchedness is great in the world.
After that dominion the world will be in confusion. After the Arab Mhamat, son

106

of Bizbat, no prophet will come into the world, and the faith will disappear from
the earth.190
Although it is filtered through a decidedly anti-Islamic polemic this Mandaean
description of Muhammad seems to resonate with certain aspects of nascent Islamic
theology.
The precise nature of Muhammads place and importance in Islam is one of the
theological issues that are in flux during the early phases of the development of the
religion. Crone notes that in the initial stages of Hagarism, Muhammad may have led a
religiously motivated conquest of Palestine but at that time he was regarded as just a
harbinger of the coming messiah and not a focal personality of the religious movement
itself.191 Later when Hagarism attempts to distinguish itself from both Judaism and
Christianity, Crone proposes that the Hagarenes recast Muhammad in the role of a
prophet along the lines of Moses.192 This would have been the beginning of a theology of
Muhammads prophethood among early Muslims. At some point perhaps soon after
Muhammad assumed the role of prophet of the Muslims the notion of Muhammad as the
seal of the prophets, meaning last of the prophets sent by Allah to humanity, also became
part of Islamic prophetology.
It is difficult to know when the concept of Muhammad as the seal of the prophets
solidified within Islamic theology but Wansbrough observes that the phrase seal of the
prophets is mentioned in Surah 33:40 and Surah 61:6 of the Qur`an. In his commentary
on 33:40 Wansbrough also mentions that the phrase seal of the prophets has
traditionally been interpreted as a reference to the last link in a chain of prophetical
190

GR 2.1:164, Lidzbarski, 54.

Crone, 4.
192
Crone, 16
191

107

election.193 This would seem to indicate that the concept of the seal of the prophets may
have some Qur`anic precedent. In his work on Muslim apocalypticism David Cook
points out that the belief that Muhammad was the seal, and therefore the last of the
prophets, regularly shaped apocalyptic thought. Cook explains that descriptions of the
apocalypse, and more specifically the nature of the role of figures like Jesus and the
Mahdi (the Muslim messiah), were carefully tailored so as preserve the notion that
Muhammad was the last prophet.194 The precautions taken with regard to preserving
Muhammads special status suggests that idea that Muhammad was the last in the line of
the prophets was established enough to have a formative impact on other aspects Islamic
theology. Even if the notion of Muhammad as the seal of the prophets had not yet risen
to the level of doctrine in the early stages of Islam there is reason to believe that concept
was known within the Muslim community.
Returning to the Mandaean sources there are other descriptions of Muhammad
that indicate that the Mandaeans may have had some exposure to the nascent versions of
the Muslim belief that Muhammad was the last of the prophets. The basic principles
underlying the Islamic belief that Muhammad was the seal of the prophets are also
present in GR 2.1:164. For example, the Mandaean text states that Muhammad emerged
as the successor to a long line of prophets. This acknowledges that Muhammad is a
prophet and that he has claim to the pedigree of an established prophetic lineage.
Secondly, while the Mandaean description does not credit Muhammad with successfully
transmitting the message of the divine, an idea that would run counter to Mandaean
theology and is therefore appropriately absent in a work of Mandaean religious literature,
193
194

Wansbrough (1977), 64.

David Cook, Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic (Princeton, NJ: The Darwin Press, 2002), 175 and 199-202.

108

the Mandaean text does assert that after Muhammad there will be no more prophets,
effectively conveying to Muhammad the status of the seal of the prophets. The
Mandaeans obviously do not intend to portray Muhammad in the same exalted light that
being the seal of the prophets grants him in Islam and yet it would seem that the image of
him as the last in a long line of prophets propagated by the seal of the prophets doctrine
may be reflected in the way that the Mandaeans came to describe Muhammad. The
possible incorporation of Islamic ideas about the nature of Muhammad into Mandaean
descriptions of him suggests that the Mandaeans may have been cognizant of key aspects
of Islamic belief and that Mandaean interaction with Islam may have allowed for some
Islamic theology, albeit with decidedly Mandaean revisions, to seep into the pages of
Mandaean literature.
It is worth noting that while these sorts of references to Muhammad prove that
portions of the material found in the Ginza necessarily post-date the spread of Islam,
there are also textual clues connected to both GR 1:203 and GR 2.1:164 which suggest
the production of these texts probably occurred sometime during the relatively early
stages of Islamic rule. The reason for thinking that the Islamically influenced content of
the Ginza texts must have been composed soon after the Muslims initial rise to power
follows from the fact that the histories in which the references to Muhammad or Islam
appear always end immediately after these references to Muhammad and Islam. The
combined stories of the coming of Muhammad and Islams ascension to religiouspolitical dominance always occupy the final position in the timeline of Mandaean history.
Once the emergence of the Islamic era has been described both GR 1 and GR 2.1 literally
conclude. In the case of GR 1 the account of the Islamic era is followed by a brief

109

exaltation of the Lightworld being Manda dHiia and then the formulaic sentence, The
Life triumphs over all Works195 signals the end of Book 1 of the GR. After the
information about Muhammad and Islam in GR 2.1:164 there is a line instructing that the
Life and Manda dHiia be praised and then another formulaic phrase, This is the book of
the Lord of Greatness196 indicates the close of GR 2.1. That both of these sections of the
GR should see fit to include phrases meant to officially designate the end of a Mandaean
text right after they mention the Arab conquest gives the impression that with the telling
of this event the narrative of world history recorded in these texts, as well as the texts
themselves, has reached a terminal point. The text must be brought to a conclusion
presumably because there is no more to tell, history has caught up with the present. In
other words, the Ginza narrator(s) composed the timelines of world history that appear in
GR 1 and GR 2.1 at a time when the last record-worthy historical event is the conquest of
the Sasanian Empire by the Muslims. This would seem to indicate that the composers of
these texts produced their narratives soon after the Muslims took control of
Mesopotamia. This would place the composition of GR 1 and GR 2.1 in a period
sometime during the latter half of the seventh century C.E.
This pattern of identifying Islam with the final stage of world history is also found
in GR 18. Although it is more detailed than the histories in either GR 1 or GR 2.1, Book
18 still pinpoints the Muslims and Islam as the last in a series of world governing powers.
The text explains that the coming of the Arab Kings will also usher in an era of
falsehood and apocalyptic decline. Muslim rule sickness and fire will consume the earth,
people will be drawn to evil, the living water will be cut off, and demons and other

195
196

GR 1:204, Lidzbarski, 30.

GR 2.1:165, Lidzbarski, 54.

110

minions of the Darkness will rise until there is no option left but to destroy Earth and
transport the remaining true believers of Mandaeism to the Lightworld.197 According to
GR 18, the final phase of world history will unfold entirely under the auspices of the
Muslims. There will be no other earthly rulers after them. This view of the Muslims as
harbingers of the final stage of world history again suggests that the Mandaean authors
responsible for this vision were probably writing in the early aftermath of Muslim
domination. It is a reasoned assumption that the placement of Muslims in the role of
apocalypse inducing rulers would grow naturally out of a relatively recent experience of
military incursion on the part of the Muslims. The association of Muslims with the
catastrophic destruction of the world seems to reflect a situation in which the creator of
this vision is immediately familiar both the circumstance of Muslim rule but also with the
violence sometimes associated with Islams ascension to power. As with the GR 1 and
2.1 this suggests the composer of GR 18 was probably active during the late 600s or
early 700s C.E.
The fact that the Mandaean accounts of world history consistently end with the
coming of the Muslims seems to indicate that it was during the period of Muslim rule that
these timelines were composed. The idea that it was as earlier rather than later stage of
Islams dominance is suggested by the lack of details that accompany the descriptions of
the Muslim era. GR 1 and GR 2 speak only of Muhammad and generally of the danger
presented by Islams ascendancy to power. Even the expanded history in GR 18 tends to
concentrate its specifics on the sins and forms of chaos that will over run the world
during the time of Muslim rule while not saying much about the Muslim leaders

197

GR 18:384-394, Lidzbarski, 412-419.

111

themselves.198 The absence of detailed information regarding actual Muslim rulers in the
Mandaean histories leads one to speculate that the composers of these histories did not
include the particulars because they were writing early enough after the initial spread of
Islam that the only major events so far associated with Islam were the emergence of
Muhammad as its leader and the (possibly apocalyptic seeming) havoc wreaked by the
spread of Islam into the territories of the former Sasanian Empire. If the histories
belonged to a period later than the initial expansion of Islam it seems likely that some of
the major developments of the history of Islamic rule in Iraq and Iran would have
appeared in the Ginza.
The dating of these texts to the early period of Islamic rule is also supported by a
line in GR 18 that hints at an actual timeframe for Muslim domination. GR 18: 387
predicts that the sovereignty of Islam will last only about three generations, Then after
the Persian Kings will be the Arab Kings. They will reign for 71 years.199 Seventy-one
years is an oddly specific number, which does not seem to possess any obvious symbolic
value.200 Moreover it also occurs in the course of an account of world history that
accurately frames the period of Sasanian rule, suggesting that there may be some
historicity to claim of a seventy-one year Muslim reign. Assuming that this passage
reflects the actual period of Muslim rule at the time of the composition of the GR,
seventy-one years from the date of the first sustained Muslim incursions into Iraq, around
about 630 C.E., would be approximately 700 C.E. 201 This timeframe accords precisely

198

The actual name of only one Arab ruler, King Paraai Sifa, son of the King Burzan (Burzin) appears
near the end of GR 18. GR 18:392, Lidzbarski, 418.
199
GR 18:387, Lidzbarski, 414.
200
For examples of world history divided into periods following a system of symbolic dating see GR 1:185204; GR 2.1:117-124; or GR 3:99-101. Lidzbarski, 28-30; 45-46; and 107, respectively
201
For an overview of the timeline of the Muslim invasion of Iraq see Choksy (1997), 14-18.

112

with the notion that the compilation of the Ginza as a whole took place in the late seventh
century C.E. in the wake of Islams expansion.
The expanded account of world history found in GR 18 does not comment much
on Islam itself, speaking instead primarily about the Arab kings and referring only
obliquely to the Falsehood that accompanied them.202 Consequently little can be
learned about Mandaeisms understanding of Islam from this passage but elsewhere in
the Ginza there are references that offer a more detailed explanation of the religious
ideals associated with Islam and the involvement of Islamic belief with the political rise
of the Muslims. One such example of this sort of in depth look at the connection between
Islam and Muslim domination is presented in book 9.1 of the GR. GR 9.1 tells how
Ruha, the traditional source of false religion according to the Mandaeans, gave the Arab
Abdallah [Muhammad] the book and discourse which he used to rally his servants
around him and which allowed him to invade and overtake all of Tibil (earth), subdue
every divinity and sack every people, borders and languages. This passage echoes
much of the Mandaean image of Islam expressed in GR 1:203 and GR 2.1:164.
Muhammad is once again credited as the source of Islam. Identifying Ruha as the source
of the book and discourse that Muhammad received removes any doubt from the
Mandaean contention that Islam, the religion based on this book, is a false religion.
Finally, GR 9.1 reiterates the notion that Islam is a dangerous faith possessing the intent
and capacity to destroy the system of beliefs of all those that come in contact with it. As
was the case with the other Ginza references to Muhammad and Islam the information
expressed in the portrayal of Islam in GR 9.1 gives the impression that familiarity with

202

GR 18:385, Lidzbarski, 412-413.

113

Islam and a need to respond to the challenge of its competing theology has once again
made its way onto the pages of Mandaean literature.
The very fact that the Mandaean text acknowledges the existence of Muhammad
and then tries to account for the source of his ideas attests to the existence of a Mandaean
effort to make sense of Islam as a rival system of belief. The specific inclusion of Ruha
as the motivator for the spread of Islam is a logical addition because, from the Mandaean
perspective, not only is she the expected progenitor of false religions, her involvement
naturally accounts for the destructive nature of Islam. What appears on the surface to be
a simple reference to Islam actually suggests an attempt to grapple with the challenge of
Islam.
One final observation needs to be made about GR 9.1. In the course of describing
the circumstances of Islams rise to power Ruha notes that Muhammad, here conflated
with Allah, inspired Islamic conquest by telling the Muslims There is no god stronger
than I; I shall give you beautiful women.203 Like the Mandaean description of
Muhammad recorded in GR 2.1.164 that mimics Islams conception of Muhammad as the
seal of the prophets these two statements reproduce distinctive elements of Islamic
theology. The first of the Islamic theological elements alluded to in this passage is the
profession of the belief in a singular, omnipotent god. While this belief is not unique to
Islam, the declaration that there is no god but Allahwith implication that all power
therefore resides in Allahis the foremost devotional conviction and act of Islam.
Islamic tradition maintains that anyone who earnestly proclaims this belief in the
supremacy of Allah, done by reciting the Shahada (There is no god but Allah and
Muhammad is his prophet), is to be counted as part of the Muslim community. The
203

GR 9.1:231-233, Lidzbarski, 232-234.

114

recitation of the Shahada is the first pillar of Islam and it is the confessional standard by
which one affirms their devotion to Islam.204 For a Mandaean text to cite claims of
divine omnipotence as one of the ways that Muhammad motivated his followers to
believe in Islam and fight for its dominance shows that the Mandaeans seem to have
some knowledge of the theological importance of the monotheistic ideal expressed
through the Shahada as a defining and driving force within Islam.
Similarly the idea that those who fight for the propagation of Islam will be
rewarded with beautiful women may reflect a Mandaean familiarity with the Quranic
promise of virgins of paradise (huris) that will attend to the faithful after death.
According to Quranic tradition Muslims who demonstrate true devotion will be given
companions with big, beautiful, lustrous, pearl-like eyes and who are pure and
holy.205 Based on repeated mentions of them in the Qur`an the huris are certainly not an
obscure bit of Islamic theology yet they are also not counted among the fundamental
beliefs (such as Muhammads prophethood, Allahs omnipotence) traditionally professed
by Muslims. It is striking therefore that the Mandaeans appear to be aware of Islamic
doctrine regarding the huris because it suggests that Mandaean knowledge of Islam
extends beyond the basics to more particular aspects of belief. The inclusion of
fundamental pieces of Islamic doctrine such as the profession of belief in an omnipotent
god, along with what are perhaps well established but secondary teachings of Islam, such
as the doctrine of the huris, in the context of GR 9.1 strongly indicates that the
Mandaeans were actively thinking about the theology of Islam and that this engagement
with Islamic ideas necessarily spilled over into Mandaean texts such as the Ginza.
204

Recitation of the Shahada, There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet. is the first Pillar
of Islam. See Colin Turner, Islam: The Basics (New York: Routledge, 2006), 100-101.
205
For references to the huris see Surahs 52.20; 44.54; 56.22-4; 56.34-39; 78.33; 55.74; 2.25; 3.15; 4.57.

115

The references to Muhammad, Islam, and especially particular elements of

Islamic belief like the seal of the prophets or the huris found in the Ginza substantiate the
notion that the spread of Islam made an impression on Mandaeism. The Muslims, and
more importantly their developing theology, were, as evidenced by their appearance in
the Ginza, a force with which to be reckoned. Islams rise to power necessitated that the
Mandaeans make an effort to integrate the Muslims into the Mandaean worldview.
Moreover, it would seem that while they were trying to explain the existence of Islam and
its place in the unfolding of cosmic history the Mandaeans developed a familiarity with
key aspects of Islamic doctrine. Knowledge of the Muslim belief in the seal of the
prophet, the omnipotence of Allah, and the reward for martyrdom in the name of
propagating Islam impacted the Mandaeans to the extent that all these ideas and more
found their way into Mandaean literature. Given Mandaeisms awareness and
internalization of these elements of Islamic theology it is reasonable to assume that other
Muslim ideals, particularly those which contend each legitimate religion possesses a
foundational book containing the message of god, also exerted an influence over the
Mandaeans. In the same sense that the manifestation of Islamic themed content within
the Ginza speaks to Islams impact on Mandaeism the very existence of the Ginza as a
book may owe something to Mandaean exposure to Islamic doctrine.
Given the overlapping compilation dates for the Ginza and the Book of John it
might be expected that the content of the latter also displays a Mandaean familiarity with
Islam. Indeed, as in the Ginza, there are references to Muhammad and Islam in the Book
of John that suggest Mandaeisms attempts to negotiate the consequences of Islams

116

burgeoning power allowed Islam to become an influential force in the shaping of

Mandaean literature.
Mixed throughout the variety of material in the Book of John but especially
apparent in the sections from the tractate about Yahia are references to Islam. One
particularly notable instance which acknowledges the Islamic conquest comes directly
from Yahia, who tells his disciples,
When all the priests are murdered and no more exist, [and] the Israelites are
murdered, then Muhammad, the Arab, will be born, the son of a slave of
Abdallah. He called out to the world; he disposed of all the temples; and great
numbers of mosques in the world.206
Because Yahia was understood to have lived well before the birth of Muhammad the text
presents these events as predictions about the future, a prophecy put in the mouth of
Yahia, but it is clear from the description he gives that his words reflect Islam as it has
been experiencednot imaginedby the Mandaeans. That the Mandaeans have
firsthand knowledge of Muslim life, religious practices, and customs is further confirmed
a few sentences later when Yahia comments on how Muslims wash their bodies and hair,
and then dye their beards with henna in preparation to pray in the mosques.207 Yahias
foresight is really hindsight borne of Mandaeisms experience with Islams expansion
and having been exposed to Muslim customs.
By presenting this knowledge of Islam and its traditions as prophetic revelations
of things to come, voiced by the premier Mandaean prophet, Yahia, the Mandaeans are
able to contextualize Islam within a Mandaean worldview in a way that maintains the

206
207

JB 22.84-85, Lidzbarski, 87-88.

JB 22.85-86, Lidzbarski, 88-89

117

religious superiority of Mandaeism. Yahias fore-knowledge about Islam, what it will

become and how it will operate deflates the specter of Islam by making it one of a series
of persecutory events that the religious authorities within Mandaeism know the
Mandaeans must endure. The Muslims are thus portrayed as a worldly danger, but
because their rise to power is something prophesied by a knowledgeable Mandaean such
as Yahia, Islam is understood to be within the purview of Mandaeism and in this sense
inferior to it. Like similar references to Islam in the Ginza this passage from the Book of
John acknowledges the existence of Islam while subtextually defining Islams place
within the religious cosmology of the Mandaeans.
In addition to his familiarity with the history of Islams expansion and its ritual
practices, Yahia also demonstrates an intimate awareness of particular elements of
Muslim theology. Specifically Yahia describes how the Muslims quiz the Mandaeans
asking, Who is your prophet? What is your holy book? and How do you pray? In
response to these questions, Yahia observes that the condemned (by which he means
the Muslims) do not know and do not understand that the Mandaean Lord of the
Lightworld is the highest, is the One.208 This is an interesting and telling exchange
firstly because it implies that the Muslims have apparently engaged the Mandaeans with
regard to inquiring about what the Muslims consider the primary tenetsprophet, holy
book, manner of prayerof ones theology and secondly because Yahias response
indicates that he recognizes that Islam is using these three questions to assess the
legitimacy of Mandaean religious beliefs (in fact the three questions Yahia claims the
Muslims pose are remarkably similar to the three questions Islamic tradition contends
every soul will be asked after death in order to judge whether they will be saved or
208

JB 22.86, Lidzbarski, 89-90.

118

condemned209). Yahias answer seems to stand as a reprimand of the imposition of

Muslim theological criteria upon the religion of the Mandaeans, especially since
ironically asking these questions ought to introduce the Muslims to the Truth of
Mandaean belief but when presented with the answers the Muslims fail to properly gauge
the Truth Mandaeism possesses. Both parts of Yahias commentary, his knowledge of
the questions and the Muslim assessment of the responses they elicit, demonstrate that the
Mandaeans knew aspects of Islamic belief well enough to understand what Muslims
considered theologically important. This passage also indicates that the Mandaeans
found the Muslims theologically short-sighted in that the Muslims were not able to
recognize that the supreme divine, oneness that they revere is embodied in the Mandaean
Lord of the Lightworld. This critique of Islam is an example of the Mandaeans
exerting their religious superiority over Islam but they are doing so in a way that
integrates or relies upon concepts borrowed from Islam. It suggests that beyond simple
familiarity the theology of Islam had a lasting impression on the Mandaeans.
These literary wrangling with the theology of Islam and the attempts to define
Islams place in the religious cosmology of the Mandaeans offer evidence that the content
of the Book of John, like that of the Ginza, is occasionally influenced by Mandaeisms
need to negotiate challenges that arose as a result of their exposure to Islam. It is also
further proof that a on some level a familiarity with Islam played a role in the formulation
of the classic works of Mandaean devotional literature, the Ginza and the Book of John.

Seeing Islam as a Factor in the Development of Mandaean Literature

209

The questions are: Who is your god? Who is your prophet? What is your qibla (direction of prayer)?

119

The corpus of Mandaean literature encompasses a vast range of material, which

complicates generalizations about the circumstances of its composition, themes, or
motivations. That said there is reason to regard Islam, or more specifically a Mandaean
familiarity with Islam, its cultural impact and religious ideals, as an influential force
contributing to the formation of important devotional texts like the Ginza and the Book of
John. Certainly Islam is not the only factor responsible for the compilation of these texts,
nevertheless the evidence does suggest that a knowledge of Islam impacted Mandaean
literature on a number of levels.
The very notion that Mandaean concern for Islamic ideals made an impression on
the Mandaeism understood and presented their literature is introduced by the Haran
Gawaita story of Anu delivery of an ahl al-dhimmi granting Mandaean Book to
Muhammad. This story explicitly demonstrates that the Mandaeans possess a tradition of
using Islamic concepts to frame Mandaean thinking about the nature of their literature.
Switching from how the texts were perceived to how they came to be, the fact that the
colophons for both the Ginza and the Book of John suggest a late seventh century C.E.
date of initial compilation for these works argues in favor of the notion that the
emergence of the major devotional pieces of Mandaean literature occurred in
concordance with the emergence of Islams ascension to the position of the areas
dominant religious tradition, a coincidence of events that hints at the possibility that the
former may owe something to the latter. The possibility of Islamic influence alluded to
by the colophons that point to the late seventh century as the date of the Ginza and the
Book of Johns composition is further substantiated by the existence of a self-confessed
desire among these early colophon scribes to produce and distribute an authoritative and

120

singular textual tradition within Mandaeism. The descriptions that the Mandaean scribes
give of their efforts to streamline and unify their texts seem to echo Muslim accounts of
the origin of the written Qur`an. The details surrounding the gathering, authenticating
and collating of Mandaean texts by their scribes follow the same pattern as Muslim
stories about Zayd ibn Thabits creation of the Uthmani Codex, which invites speculation
that Islamic traditions about the formation of the official written version of their holy
book may have served as a precedent for the Mandaean scribes and their aspirations for a
official literary tradition within Islam. Finally the content of the Ginza and the Book of
John, parts of which identify Muhammad as the source of Islam or mention Islams
involvement in the conquest of the Sasanian Empire and in doing so comments on and
wrestles with aspects of Islamic theology demonstrates that Mandaeisms encounters with
Islam came to be an integral part of Mandaean literature.
In each of these instances, from the dates of compilation, to the desire for unified
textual tradition, to the Islamically laced content of the texts, a familiarity with Islam can
be seen as exerting an influence over the shaping of Mandaean literature. It is perhaps
not the most important force but it is still a clear factor in the development of Mandaean
literature. Consequently we have compelling reason to include Islam on the list of
traditions to be considered as possible contributors to the highly syncretic nature of
Mandaean religion. This connection between Islam and Mandaean literature also sets the
stage for using Islam to help expand our understanding of some of the quirks and
complexities that often accompany the stories and imagery that constitute Mandaeism. In
the chapters that follow I intend to engage in precisely this type of comparative
application of Islam to Mandaeism. I will bring Islam into the analysis of two important,

121

but sometimes enigmatic figures from Mandaean literature, Yahia and Miriai. Although
they are commonly thought to be variants or perversions of Jewish and Christian
characters I want to revisit the Mandaean stories about Yahia and Miriai, applying an
Islamic lens to the particularities of their depiction in order to refine what these figures
actually reveal about Mandaean religion.

122

Chapter 4
Miriai: A Character Study

One of the more enigmatic and intriguing aspects of Mandaean literature is its
tendency to present figures familiar to a Jewish or Christian audience in a manner that
defies the conventions of Judaism and Christianity. At a basic level the Mandaean
characters mirror their Hebrew Bible or New Testament counterparts, at least to the
degree that they are mutually identifiable but they differentiate themselves to the extent
that the Mandaean versions assume unexpected roles or personalities. Perhaps the most
notable example of this sort of inversion of traditional character expectations can be
observed in the Mandaean perception of Jesus. As far as Mandaeism is concerned Jesus
is a loathsome apostate. In Mandaean literature Jesus was supposedly schooled by John
the Baptist, a figure the Mandaeans claim as their most celebrated prophet, in the beliefs
and practices of Mandaeism but betrayed this knowledge to preach a false religion and
institute a baptism that negates all that Mandaeism holds so dear.210 Elsewhere in
Mandaean literature characters that are mostly voiceless in their Jewish or Christian
iterations tell their stories and figures of lesser importance step into the focal role of the
narrative. This is what happens with John the Baptist, whose significant but relatively
silent role in the Christian New Testament is replaced in Mandaean literature with a
series of important stories that feature John and the teachings attributed to him.211 The
reversals and alterations associated with the Mandaean expressions of these characters
210

For an overview of Mandaean attitudes regarding Jesus see GR 1:198-202, Lidzbarski, 29-30; GR
2.1:139-150, Lidzbarski, 42-44; JB 30, Lidzbarski, 103-109; JB 76, Lidzbarski, 273-277;
211
For material on John the Baptist see JB 18-33, Lidzbarski, 75-123; GR 2.1:151-153, Lidzbarski, 51; GR
5.4, Lidzbarski, 190-196; and the Haran Gawaita. For the sayings attributed to John see GR 7, Lidzbarski,
213-219.

123

imbue Mandaean literature with an odd mixture of vague familiarity overlaid with
potentially puzzling twists. The combination of the known and the unexpected manifest
in some of the characters that populate Mandaean texts points to the inherent complexity
of the literature in a way that both invites scholarship on the subject and highlights the
challenge of the task at hand.
Miriai, who appears in Mandaean texts as a prominent Mandaean convert from
Judaism, is one of these fascinatingly conventional yet unconventional Mandaean reimaging of an ostensibly Jewish or Christian character. She recalls Christianity in the
sense that the evidence from Mandaean sources indicates that she is probably meant to be
synonymous with the Christian Mary, mother of Jesus. Their shared, if variantly
rendered, name is the first clue that the characters seem to be linked. More substantially,
the Mandaean Miriai starts out as a young Jewish woman who changes religious
affiliations in connection with accusations of illicit sexual relations. This roughly
corresponds to the general image of Mary within Christianity as a young Jewish woman
who mysteriously becomes pregnant with the founder of a new religion of which she
becomes one of the initial members. On one level it would seem reasonable to presume
that the Mandaean Miriai shares something with the Christian tradition of Mary but an
unqualified association of one with the other falters over one significant detail. Jesus is
conspicuously absent from the actual stories about Miriai in Mandaean literature. The
most extensive Mandaean narratives about Miriai never mention Jesus, much less identify
Miriai as his mother.212 Miriai has an exalted place in the scope of Mandaean devotion

212

The idea that Miriai is the mother of Jesus is not totally missing from Mandaeism. The Haran Gawaita
briefly mentions Miriai, whom the text calls Mariam, identifying her as the mother of a false messiah.
Drower, HG, 3. This oblique reference is the only instance in Mandaean literature in which Miriai is
specifically linked to Jesus. Interestingly beyond this secondary identification of Miriai/Miriam with a

124

but the religious authority and significance attributed to Miriai is completely of her own
making. It does not rely on secondary biological relationship with another figure. If
anything, the Mandaeans usual repugnance for the Christian Messiah suggests that Miriai
is revere by Mandaeism in spite of rather than because of any relationship she might have
to Jesus. In this sense the role occupied by the Mandaean Miriai is quite distinctive from
that of the Christian Mary.213 This is also what makes Miriai simultaneously a
tantalizingly familiar and enigmatically idiosyncratic character who defies easy
classification as a mere distortion a Christian norm.
The character study of Miriai presents a challenge but not an insurmountable one,
especially if consideration for the possible influence of Islam is included among the
lenses through which the articulation and meaning of Miriais appearance in Mandaean
literature is evaluated. A fuller appreciation for the significance of Miriais place in
Mandaeism can be attained by using Islam to help parse two thematic elements of the
Miriai narrative: first, the character of Miriai herself; and second, the image of the Jews
as they appear in the texts. We will begin by exploring how Miriai and the Jews are
manifest in the Mandaean texts and what they might mean or how do they function
within the stories. Then we will turn to a comparison with possible Islamic parallels for
both Miriai and the narratives treatment of the Jews. The end result will be a better
understanding of the contributions that the stories about Miriai make to the expression of
Mandaeism as a religion coupled with greater insight into how exposure to early

false messiah the HG has nothing more to say about Miriai suggesting that in the over scheme of Miriais
character development within Mandaean literature her appearance in the HG plays a minor role, at best.
213
It may be possible that greater affinity exists between Miriai and what became the heretical or
apocryphal Christian traditions regarding Mary but even in this case there remains the significant
distinction that core Mandaean narratives about Miriai do not predicate her religious importance on an
underlying biological relationship to Jesus.

125

expressions of Islam may have contributed to the shaping of the nature of Mandaean
religion.

Miriai: A Literary Portrait

Miriai occupies a unique place in Mandaean literature. She does not appear with
the regularity of other foundational figures such as Hibil Ziwa, Manda d Hiia, Anu`uthra, or Yahia for whom there are multiple and varied traditions. Miriai appearances
are limited to a couple of passing, unelaborated references and to one longer story spread
out over two chapters of the Book of John. Judged against to the frequency with which
other well known characters populate Mandaean narrative Miriai might seem a relatively
minor actor, but her comparatively smaller presence in Mandaean literature belies the
overall significance of her persona to Mandaean religion. Within Mandaeism the role
assigned to Miriai is one of a paradigm of faith and religious devotion. The images of her
in Mandaean literature cast her as the ideal believer: virtuous, pure, beloved by the
divine, and steadfastly pious. There may be only a few references to Miriai in the
Mandaean corpus but they result in the portrayal of a figure who has major implications
for the religious imagination of the Mandaeans.
The details that instrumental to constructing the nature of Miriais character
emerge out of a combination of Mandaean texts. The Right Ginza, Haran Gawaita, the
Canonical Prayerbook and the Book of John all mention her.214 Most of the references in
the first three of these texts are brief. They do not concentrate on Miriai, nor do they give
much substantial information about who she is. This may reflect the fact that Miriai
214

Drower also records a modern legendary version of Miriais story under the name Nebuchadnezzars
Daughter. Drower (1937), 282-288.

126

holds such a prominent place in the collective imagination of the Mandaean community
that there is little need to identify her explicitly. Conversely it might also indicate that
the development of Miriais character as a prominent figure in Mandaeism is more
closely connected to the compilation of the Book of John. The one place in which Miriai
appears as a fully defined and focal figure is chapters thirty-four and thirty-five of the
Book of John.215 These texts give a thorough account of who Miriai is and how she fits
into the Mandaean worldview. The story recorded in these chapters provides, by far, the
most information about Miriai but it must be considered in concert with the other
references in order to arrive at a complete picture of Miriai as a figure in Mandaean
literature.

Miriai in Passing: Brief Allusions to Miriai in Mandaean Literature

The cursory references to Miriai, while brief, can be read in a way that helps
explain how Miriai assumed the role of a paradigm of Mandaean practice. The ideal
nature of Miriais character is established in these short passages through allusions to the
topic proper Mandaean discipleship. The image of Miriai as a laudably devout follower
of Mandaeism finds expression in her appearances in chapter twenty-one and twenty-two
of the Book of John. These chapters are primarily concerned with the actions of Yahia
(John), a leading priest and prophet of Mandaeism, but Miriai, who the Mandaeans
closely associate with Yahia, makes a cameo appearance in both texts in conjunction with
depictions of the Mandaean ideal of discipleship. While recounting the life-story and
teachings of Yahia these chapters also reveal that Miriai is twice among a special group

215

The Canonical Prayerbook includes two prayers, number 149 and 162 (Drower CP, 129-130 and 140141, respectively), which repeat portion of the stories found in the Book of John.

127

of Yahias followers who are especially responsive to his message. In chapter twentyone Miriai weeps along with her kinswoman `Nisbai in reaction to hearing Yahia
speak.216 In chapter twenty-two Miriai joins two other men, Jaqif and Benia Amin, who
are traditionally associated with the founding of the Mandaean priesthood, in expressing
heightened interest in Yahias teaching. Miriai, Jaqif, and Benia Amin question Yahia
further regarding the meaning of his lesson.217 Miriais emotional response to Yahias
message and her inquisitiveness about the details of his teaching posit Miriai as an
especially acute follower of Yahia, one who is both greatly moved by his teachings and
anxious to develop the fullest possible understanding of those teachings.218
Miriais reactions to Yahia are notable because the teachings of Yahia are equated
with the knowledge of Mandaean religion in general.219 Mandaean tradition believes that
Yahia received his instruction from the Lightworld consequently his teachings offer
direct insight into the belief and practices of Mandaean religion. Miriais devotion to
Yahia symbolizes devotion to Mandaeism. The attentiveness Miriai accords to Yahias
message identifies her as the ideal disciple of Mandaeism and in doing so models the
behavior to which all Mandaeans ought to aspire.
There are other brief references to Miriai in the Book of John that also contribute
to the image of Miriai as an exemplary practitioner of Mandaeism. For example, a
passage from chapter fifty-four bears witness to the exceptional devotion Miriai
expresses by having a divine envoy sent from the Lightworldeither Hibil Ziwa or
216

JB 21:80-81, Lidzbarski, 85.

JB 22:84-85, Lidzbarski, 87-88.
218
It is notable that in both these chapters the message being preached by Yahia is one of Mandaeism
looming destruction. This doomsday message reflects a preoccupation with the Islamic conquest which
appears throughout the Book of John as well as a traditional association of Miriai, Benia Amin, and Jaqif
with the persecution of the Mandaeans by the Jews.
219
Regarding Yahias place in the religious life of Mandaeism see Drower (1937), 2-4.
217

128

Manda d Hiia220--single out single out Miriai as the perfect one, who is generations and
worlds dear to me.221 This description of Miriai indicates that the divine regards Miriai
as flawless, so flawless that she is beloved by a Lightworld being. Few higher
compliments could be paid to a human than to be cherished for their perfection by the
divine, this is the state of being for which all Mandaeans strive.
A similar acknowledgement of Miriais worthiness of divine favor likewise
appears in GR 15.11, where the Lightworld being Anu-`uthra222 descends in to
Jerusalem to heal Miriai. The text does not specify the nature of Miriais injury, in fact
up until the moment Anu appears to care for her the story does not even mention Miriai,
it is focused instead on the religious blasphemy and horror visited on the world by the
spirit being Ruha and her evil son from the Darkness, Ur. Right after the text explains
how the Jews, under the guidance of Ruha, have brought darkness to the holy city the
focus on the evils of Ruha and her minions is interrupted to announce that Anu came to
Jerusalem to act as doctor to Miriai.223 The implication seems to be that the heretofore
unmentioned Miriai was harmed as a result of the Jews misbehavior in Jerusalem and that
Anu has intervened to save her from the Jews. This interpretation is further supported
by the fact that later in the story Anu proceeds to destroy Jerusalem and kill the Jews
because of their persecution of his people, I destroyed the place Jerusalem, where the
blood of my tarmidia was poured out; I killed the Jews, who were a persecution of the

220

Hibil Ziwa and Manda d Hiia are often interchangeable in Mandaean literature and this chapter of the
Book of John switches between names throughout the story.
221
JB 54:198, Lidzbarski, 192.
222
When the Lightworld being, Anu-`uthra, initially appears in many Mandaean stories he is identified by
the compound name Anu-`uthra, perhaps to distinguish him from human figures that are also named Anu.
However in subsequent references the narratives often drop `uthra and just identify him as Anu. I will
follow this practice in my discussion of the story.
223
GR 15.11:331- 332, Lidzbarski, 341.

129

race of Life.224 The story seems to suggest a partial conflation of Miriai with the city of
Jerusalem.
The correlation of Miriai with Jerusalem can be explained as follows. In much
the same way as Miriai has been wounded in the battle with the forces of Darkness, so
too has Jerusalem been wounded in the estimation of the Mandaeans because although
the city rightfully belongs to the Mandaeans it has been overrun by the false religions of
the Darkness, especially Judaism. Anu appears in the story to act as the healer of the
wounds of both Miriai and Jerusalem. For Miriai the help offered by Anu manifests
itself through the doctoring of her physical injuries. For the city of Jerusalem Anu
prescribes a more extreme cure. The infection wrought by the Darkness is so severe
within Jerusalem that the only chance for recovery lies with the destruction of the
infecting agent. To draw an anachronistic parallel the destructive doctoring Anu
provides to Jerusalem is tantamount to course of treatment in which a modern oncologist
kills the marrow residing in a cancer patients bones so as to create the possibility of
reintroducing a healthy agent to revive the afflicted body. Anu routs the cancerous
Jews from Jerusalem to break the Darknesss hold on the city, so that the Mandaeans
might someday reclaim their rightful place in the world. Miriai and Jerusalem are thus
conflate-able because Anu comes to doctor and heal both of them.
The symbolism implied by the interchangeability of Miriai and Jerusalem in this
story adds to the perception that Miriai occupies a paradigmatic place within Mandaeism.
As with the previous depictions of Miriai the notion that she might be regarded as a proxy
for the city of Jerusalem affirms Miriais status as an exceptional figure in the hearts of
the Mandaeans. Her holiness is comparable to that of Jerusalem, a city that Mandaeism
224

GR 15.11:333-334, Lidzbarski, 343-344.

130

reveres above all, despite its often problematic association with Ruha and Judaism.225 In
addition to corroborating the exalted status of Miriai that positions her as a model of piety
for all Mandaeans the association with Jerusalem also metaphorically hints at the
foundational importance in Miriais relationship to the Mandaean people. Mandaeism
regards Jerusalem as the site of the origins of the Mandaean people, therefore to suggest,
as this story seems to do that Miriai can function as a surrogate for Jerusalem is to equate
Miriai with the origin of the Mandaean people. The possibility that Miriai might be
thought of as a source for the Mandaean community lends further credence to idea that
she was meant to be perceived of as a model expression of Mandaean piety.
The image of Miriai as a foundational source for the Mandaean community is a
theme that is expressed elsewhere in the details of GR 15.11. For example in a confusion
of details that defies chronology, the text identifies the very people along side Miriai
whom Anu comes to avenge, the tarmidia killed by the Jews, as the descendants of
Miriai.226 After healing Miriai, Anu baptized her and marked her with a pure mark.227
Miriai, who the text here calls the perfect one, then gives birth to Jaqif and Beni-Amin,
who in turn produce 365 tarmidia, the same tarmidia as are killed by the Jews. Miriai is
the matriarch of the entire community of persecuted Mandaeans. What makes this
lineage even more significant is that tarmidia are not just Mandaeans, but rather the

225

Regarding Mandaean attitudes towards Jerusalem see GR 1.189-191, Lidzbarski, 28; GR 15.11,
Lidzbarski, 336-344.
226
The break in linear chronology does not negate the story. There are a number of instances in Mandaean
literature in which characters appear as actors both in the distant past and unfolding events. The
impossibility of existing in both periods of time does not seem to bother the Mandaean audience for there
are no records of any attempts to explain or account for these lapses in linear chronology.
227
GR 15.11:331, Lidzbarski, 341.

131

priests of the Mandaeans.228 According to this portion of GR 15.11 Miriai is the source
of the religious leadership of Mandaeism.
The image of Miriai as (grand)mother of the Mandaean priesthood corresponds
with the references from the Book of John that portray Miriai as the ultimate believer.
Who better than the ideal devotee to produce the line of individuals responsible for the
religious education of the rest of the Mandaean people? The story even suggests Miriai
was specifically selected by Anu for just this task. Jaqif and Beni-Amin are born
immediately after Miriai is baptized and marked, as though they, as well as those they
then produce, are the direct result of Anus intercession with Miriai. Each of these
events builds upon one another to bolster the notion that Miriai is the paradigmatic
expression of Mandaean piety.
These brief references to Miriai by themselves create a vivid impression of her
characters importance to Mandaeism. She embodies the ideal of Mandaean discipleship;
she is beloved by the divine; she is perfect; and she is the source of the priesthood. These
traits establish that Miriai has an integral part in shaping the religious identity of the
Mandaeans. She models the behaviors and attitudes that ought to be found in every
Mandaean. She shows the community how to be good Mandaeans and she gives them a
glimpse of the divine protection and favor visited on those who achieve perfection. The
references are fleeting but the implications are immense. Miriai is a paradigm of
Mandaeism, a model which outlines the contours of religious selfhood for the whole
community to follow.

228

Tarmidia has the meaning of both priest and disciple and it is likely that the text has both in mind here.
However it is also clear from the text that these 365 were responsible for proselytizing and educating the
community about the message of the Life which is a job that is traditionally held by the priestly cast in
Mandaean society.

132

The Story of Miriai: JB 34-35

The paradigmatic role of Miriai articulated in the passages that give only passing
attention to her is reinforced by the one story in Mandaean literature which takes Miriai
as its central character. Stretched over two chapters, sections thirty-four and thirty-five
of the Book of John, and also partially recorded in two prayers, 149 and 162, in the
Canonical Prayerbook, the story of Miriai focuses on her conversion from Judaism to
Mandaeism and the consequences wrought by her change of faith.
The story of Miriai begins with her identification as the teenage daughter of a
high ranking Jewish family.229 But before long Miriai breaks with her ethnic heritage and
converts to Mandaeism because she overhears the prayers and ministrations of the
Mandaeans and realizes the superiority of their religious truth. She maintains her fidelity
to Mandaeism despite repeated urgings by her father, mother and other members of the
Jewish community to return to Judaism. According to the story the Jews regard Miriais
departure as an enormous betrayal. In chapter thirty-four Miriais bodily230 father
describes her apostasy from Judaism as an act of licentiousness, accusing her of engaging
in sexual misconduct and suggesting that she adopted Mandaeism out of sexual desire:
Come see Miriai who has abandoned Judaism in order to love her lord. Come see
Miriai who has left the colorful fabric so to love her lord. She has left gold and

229

The stories identify her as the daughter of Jewish and Babylonian kings. The Babylonians here most
likely refer not to indigenous Babylonians but rather to the ruling class of Jews among those who remained
in Babylonia after the exile. In the legendary accounts recorded by Drower Miriai is also identified as the
daughter of Nebuchadnezzar but she is still understood to be Jewish. Drower (1937), 282-288.
230
After Miriai meets the Mandaeans, whom she calls her brothers and sisters, the text makes a point of
identifying her Jewish father as her bodily father a distinction that is not present in the text prior to her
conversion to Mandaeism. Compare JB 34.128:10, 11 & 17 Lidzbarski, 126 to JB 34.128-129:21-22,
Lidzbarski, 126.

133

silver and went out so to love her lord. She has left the Tutift (phylacteries) and
went out so to love the man with the Burzinq (turban).231
Miriai replies to her father by insisting that she has no choice but to devote herself to her
lord, Manda d Hiia, as he is her true love, a support in the world and an aide in heaven.
Then she curses the Jews for suggesting she should deny the love she has gained by
becoming a Mandaean, Dust in the mouths of Jews, ash in the mouths of all the priests.
May the dung that is under the feet of the horses cover the supreme leaders that rule
Jerusalem.232
Chapter thirty-four concludes with the recitation of Miriais curse but her story
continues in chapter thirty-five. The story does not pick up immediately where it left off
but begins instead with an allegorical interlude.233 According to the allegory Miriai is a
wondrous vine or tree234 at the edge of the Euphrates whom all birds (humanity) seek out
for sustenance and protection. There are good birds (Mandaeans) who hold fast to the
vine-tree/Miriai even when buffeted by the persecuting winds and tempests. The allegory
notes that those who endure will be rewarded for their fidelity, but the bad birds, those
who abandoned the vine-tree/Miriai when difficulty arose, will meet a disastrous fate.
Not coincidently the fate of the bad birds also applies the Jews, who the final lines of the

231

JB 34.130-131, Lidzbarski, 129. A burzinq is the head dress worn by Mandaean priests. See Drower
(1937), 30-31.
232
JB 34.131, Lidzbarski, 129.
233
It seems likely that chapter 35 is not a direct continuation of chapter 34 but rather a separate tradition
that nonetheless continues the story of Miriais conversion and was thus made to follow chapter 34 in the
composition of the Book of John.
234
The text initially includes both terms but as the story progresses it refers to her primarily as a tree. The
text is making a clear effort to link Miriai, as the vine/tree, to the cosmogonic, Lightworld vinestock found
elsewhere in Mandaean literature. The cosmic tree is a common feature in Mesopotamian religions. It also
has precedent in Zoroastrian sources. See R.C. Zaehner, The Teachings of the Magi: A Compendium of
Zoroastrian Belief (New York: Macmillan, 1956).

134

allegory identify as the source of the persecuting storms that attacked Miriai, woe to the
Jews who were a persecution for Miriai.235
The symbolism used in this passage reveals a great deal about the self perception
of the Mandaeans, especially the Mandaeans vision of themselves as a persecuted people.
Greater attention will be paid to the specific contributions of this allegory to the
construction of the Mandaeans religious identity in a later section of this chapter. For
now the attention remains on Miriai and the fact that this allegory bolsters her
paradigmatic role in Mandaeism. In the allegory she is envisioned as the thing which
nurtures humanity, providing it with a source of food and shelter. She is also the thing to
which one ought to cling, even or especially in times of trouble, lest one be subject to dire
consequences. The allegory does not just portray Miriai as the ideal model of Mandaean
piety it casts her as an embodiment of Mandaeism itself. Everything that Miriai provides
for birds is precisely what Mandaean religion does for its adherents. Miriai in the
metaphoric form of the vine-tree is a symbolic representation of Mandaeism. The
allegorizing of Miriai as the vine-tree delineates everything that is to be gained or lost
from the decision to embrace or dissociate from Mandaeism. By outlining all this
information through the doubled metaphor of Miriai as the vine-tree as Mandaeism the
opening allegory serves the dual purpose of defining Mandaean belief and previewing the
message that will unfold in the rest of Miriais story.
The end of the allegory brings an abrupt return to the story of Miriais
conversion.236 The story resumes with a gathering of all the Jewish teachers who vow to
kill the man who has won over Miriai. Interestingly when the murderous Jewish mob
235

JB 35.132-136, Lidzbarski, 129-133.

I think that the allegory may have been inserted into the beginning of chapter 35 in order to create a
context for the reading of the large story about Miriais conversion.

236

135

finds Miriai she is fully garbed in the attire of a Mandaean priest and is engaged in
priestly duties,
They [the Jewish teachers] went out and found that a throne was set up for Miriai
on the bank of the Euphrates. A white standard was unfurled for her, and a book
was set upon her lap. She reads from the Book of Kut (Truth) and awakens all
the world. She holds the staff of living water in her hand, the griddle is bound
around her loins. Miriai prays humbly and proclaims with a wondrous voice.237
The text then reports that Miriais preaching manages to enchant all the surrounding
wildlife and put the Jewish teachers to shame.
This description of Miriai takes her entwinement with the Mandaean priesthood to
a new level. She is not just linked to the priesthood by discipleship (JB 21 and 22) or
maternity (GR 15.11), she is herself a priest.238 The story emphatically establishes a
priestly identity for Miriai. It seems in fact that the text regards Miriai not just as any
Mandaean priest but as a priest par excellence. She has all the priestly raimentsthe
standard, the staff, the griddle and the Book of Kut239but more than that she displays
an extraordinary talent for preaching the message of the Lightworld, she rouses the entire

237

JB 35.137, Lidzbarski, 134. Compare to the descriptions and pictures of Mandaean priests in Drower
(1937), 30-40 & 146-177, and Lupieri, 3-32.
238
Buckley seems to read the image of Miriai as a priest as a subversion of gender norms. Buckley (2002),
52. And while this may be true within the larger context of the late antique religious worlds of Judaism and
Christianity, in which women were barred from priestly roles, Buckleys research itself seems to suggest
that women priests may have been common or at least not exceptional, within Mandaeism. See Buckley,
The Evidence for Women Priests in Mandaeism. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 59, no. 2 (2000): 93106. If women did in fact hold the role of priests in late antique Mandaean society then it seems unlikely to
me that the appearance of Miriai in full priestly regalia would necessarily convey a message of gender
subversion to its Mandaean audience.
239
There is not a presently a text known as the Book of Kut within the Mandaean corpus, however another
chapter of the Book of John makes reference to the Letter of Kut, so it is possible that such a text may
have once existed. Alternatively, the word Kut means truth so it is possible that insofar as all the
Mandaean books contain truth in the sense of articulating the teachings of the Lightworld the Book of
Kut could be any of these texts. Given Miriais appearance as a priest the most likely possibilities are
either the Ginza or the Canonical Prayerbook since both of these texts are used liturgically.

136

world and even entrances the animals. These are the characteristics of a particularly
knowledgeable and efficacious priest, certainly one that the Mandaeans ought to regard
as an ideal practitioner of their religion.
The image of Miriai as an exceptional member of the priesthood is reinforced
later in the story when a Lightworld being, probably Hibil Ziwa, Manda d Hiia, or
Anu240, comes to Miriai in the form of an eagle241 and requests her hand in kut.242
This is a significant gesture because kut, which has the general meaning of truth, also
refers to a symbolic clasping of hands that is a regular part of Mandaean ritual. In its
ritual context the act of kut seems to be a gesture indicative of the passage or sharing of
Mandaean religious knowledge and in most rituals it usually originates with the higher
ranking priest who bestows kut on the lower ranking priest or the lay initiand.243 For a
Lightworld being to ask Miriai for kut indicates an inversion of the expected
hierarchical relationship and suggests the Lightworld has accorded unconventional
reverence to priestly abilities of Miriai. Moments after requesting kut the Lightworld
being defers again to Miriais outstanding knowledge of Mandaeism entreating her to
share her teachings with him,
Miriai, he says to her, look at me favorably, remember me before the Life. I
am your good messenger, the man who listens to your speech. I beg you for the
whole kut, the kut which the Jordans have called out.244

240

The text, specifically Miriai, identifies the eagle only as the Good uthra but given his involvement in
the vanquishing the Jews Mandaean tradition indicates that the Uthra was almost certainly Hibil Ziwa,
Manda d Hiia, or Anu.
241
The Lightworld figure that appears in the allegory at the beginning of the chapter also takes the form of
an eagle. An avenging bird also appears in GR 15.11.
242
JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 137-138.
243
See Drower (1937), 100-123.
244
JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138.

137

The kut being requested here is not another handshake but rather kut in its other
sense of religious truth, specifically the kut or religious knowledge which comes from
contact with the rivers Jordan.245 The Mandaeans consider rivers, which they usually call
Jordan, to be their link to the Lightworld; the waters of the rivers are imbued with the
holiness of divine realm. 246 Consequently the kut called out from the Jordans is the
Truth that comes from the Lightworld, in other words the Truth that is the substance of
Mandaean religion. When the Lightworld being asks Miriai for the kut of the Jordans
he is really asking her to instruct him in Mandaeism.
It should also be noted that the Lightworld being begins his request by pleading
with Miriai to look well upon him and to act as his patron before the Life, the supreme
deity of Mandaeism. These are the appeals of a supplicant to his master. The uthra
humbles himself before Miriai, casting her in the role of lead priest and himself as her
pupil. This is a surprising and intriguing development because the uthra, as a
Lightworld being, should be better versed in the kut than the human Miriai. This role
reversal and the uthra willingness to subjugate himself to Miriai is yet further proof that
Miriai ought to be regarded as an extraordinary example of Mandaean piety.
Miriais priestly knowledge and teachings are so great that even an envoy from
the Lightworld is willing to acknowledge her erudition. The list of those moved by
Miriais preaching now includes all of humanity, all of creation, and a representative of
the Lightworld. The latters approval is the ultimate validation of Miriais paradigmatic
character, especially considering the uthra is probably Hibil Ziwa, Manda d Hiia, or

245

Drower defines kut as the clasping of right hands in ritual. Drower (1937), 418.
The Mandaeans use the Jordan to refer to all rivers, not just the actual Jordan River. The use of the
plural in this passage may be a reflection of the Mandaean belief that the waters from all rivers possess a
sacred connection to the Lightworld.

246

138

Anu, the beings that Mandaeism traditionally credits with giving Mandaean religion to
humanity.247 To be esteemed as an authority of Mandaeism by one of these beings is to
achieve the highest pedigree. The portrayal of Miriai in chapter thirty-five effectively
establishes her as the ideal expression of a Mandaean priest. And since the priests are
responsible for the articulation and implementation of Mandaean religiosity Miriai is
likewise, and once again, the foremost model of what it is to be a good Mandaean.
If this image of Miriai were not sufficient enough to inspire emulation the text
takes the development her character a step further by hinting at the possibility that
Miriais piety was so great that she attained apotheosis. At the very end of the text Miriai
praises the Lightworld being and then, echoing the pronouncements made by the
Lightworld messenger in the allegory at the being of the chapter, Miriai proclaims that all
who follow the Lightworld teaching will find happiness but anyone who rejects these
lessons will meet with utter destruction for they belong to the Jews, the slaves, and the
priests that are sons of the maid.248 After giving voice to one of the core teachings of
Mandaeism, namely that Mandaean belief represents the true religion of the Lightworld
and that all other religions are the unfortunate miscreations of the flawed and vengeful
being Ruha, Miriai turns to the Lightworld being and announces that they will ascend
together to the Lightworld, you and I will circle upward and victoriously go upward to
the Realm of Light.249 With this the story of Miriai concludes, giving the impression
that Miriai did not die but rather thanks to her incomparable understanding and

247

For examples of the uthrias involvement with the giving of Mandaean religion to humanity see GR 3,
Lidzbarski, 107-113; JB 76, Lidzbarski, 242-244; and the Haran Gawaita story of Yahias religious
education in Drower HG 5-8.
248
JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138. The maid is a reference to Ruha, whom the Mandaeans identify as the
mother and patron of the worlds false religions.
249
JB 35.143, Lidzbarski, 138.

139

articulation of Mandaean belief she was transported to life in the Lightworld among the
other Lightworld beings.
The symbolism of this event would be obvious to a Mandaean audience. The
attainment of life in the Lightworld is the ultimate goal of every Mandaean. The primary
religious rituals in which all members of the Mandaean community take part, baptism and
the death mass, are both focused on physically and spiritually preparing the individual for
entry into the Lightworld. Both the Right and Left sides of the Ginza as well as an
esoteric text known as the Diwan Abatur (Scroll of Abatur) give detailed descriptions of
the path taken to arrive at the Lightworld and instructions for the process by which such a
journey is made.250 Even events such as the tarmida (priest) initiation or texts like the Alf
Trisar uialia (The Thousand and Twelve Questions), a manual for the correction of
ritual impurities, which do not specifically address the move to the Lightworld are still
concerned with the issue of preparing one for life in the Lightworld in the sense that their
purpose is to create and maintain the holiness those members of the community who are
essential for guiding the rest of the Mandaeans to their goal of inhabiting the Lightworld.
The concluding ascent in chapter thirty-five of the Book of John is one more expression
of this theme of attaining life in the Lightworld found throughout Mandaeism. Miriais
story reminds Mandaeans that one of the fundamental purposes of Mandaeism is to
become part of the Lightworld and that in the character of Miriai they are able to see how
they achieve this objective.

250

For an explanation of the journey through the watchhouses to the realm of Light see GL 1.4:29-38,
Lidzbarski, 445-452; GR 5.3:180-188, Lidzbarski, 183-190; GR 5.4:194-196, Lidzbarski, 194-196; GR
6:208-211, Lidzbarski, 208-212; and Drower, Diwan Abatur or Progress Through the Purgatories Studi e
Testi 176. (Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1950).

140

Plotting a Path to the Lightworld

As the events of her story unfold Miriai gives Mandaeans a step by step
demonstration of the route they must take to arrive at the Lightworld. In the context of
Miriais story the path to the Lightworld begins with the acceptance of Mandaeism as the
one true religion. This is the essential first step for any Mandaean who wishes to see the
Lightworld. A Mandaean wishing to arrive at the Lightworld must begin by embracing
Mandaean religion and recognizing that it is unlike and superior to any other faith they
may have encountered. In Miriais case this lesson is explicated through the portrayal of
her as Jew with close ties to the templeshe was raised by Jewish priestswho
nevertheless finds greater meaning and beauty in the house of the Mandaeans. Her
conversion, the decision to adhere to the tenets of Mandaeism above all others,
symbolizes the initial religious awaking and acceptance of the beliefs of the Mandaean
community.251
Once one has entered into the religious community of the Mandaeans the next
step is to hold fast to Mandaeism even in times of challenge. Miriais story repeatedly
makes it clear to its audience that only those who continue to profess Mandaeism in the
face of persecution will be rewarded with the Lightworld. This is the moral of the
allegory and it is the message which Miriai repeats throughout her story. Unwavering
devotion is also the behavior modeled by Miriai when she ignores pleas and threats from

251

Interestingly the fact that Miriai arrived at this realization through conversion to Mandaeism is the one
aspect of the story that offers a challenge to the perception of her as the paradigmatic Mandaean believer.
Mandaeism is a religion of ethnicity and in the modern community conversion to Mandaeism is not
allowed. It is less clear if this was also the policy within the ancient community. But even if conversion
was not allowed it might be argued that since the Mandaeans and Jews are both Semitic people Miriais
profession of Mandaeism does not violate ethnic prohibitions and is therefore okay. Regardless for the
purposes of the model set up by Miriais character her origins do not matter as much as the fact that she
recognizes Mandaeism as the one true religion.

141

her father, mother252, and other Jews demanding that she return to Judaism. Miriais
vehement rejection of Judaism even when the Jews debase her character and plot to
punish her for it expresses the fortitude of belief that all Mandaeans must strive for if they
wish to stay on track to enter the Lightworld.
The next step on the path to the Lightworld poses a slight challenge because it
moves Miriai away from the lay population of Mandaeans into the elite class of the
priesthood. The Mandaean priesthood is a heredity office and therefore limited to
certain segment of the Mandaean community not all Mandaeans can literally follow
Miriais example and become a priest but that does not mean this phase of her story is not
instructive. Not all Mandaeans can be priests but they can all endeavor to be priestly in
their religious behavior. In Mandaeism the priests are associated with the perfection of
religious learning and ritual practice. When Miriai assumes the role of a priest she is
effectively reminding her audience that acquiring a fuller understanding of Mandaean
beliefs and rituals are the keys to living a good Mandaean life which thus makes them a
necessary part of journeying towards the Lightworld.
She is also reminding them that the office of the priesthood is an essential factor
in arriving at the Lightworld. It is only with the help of the priests that lay Mandaeans
are able to make the transition to the Lightworld. The entire exchange in which the
Lightworld being requests kut and patronage from Miriai models the relationship lay
Mandaeans need to have with their priests. To move closer to the Lightworld Mandaeans
must follow the example of the Lightworld being and submit themselves to the ministry
of learned and talented priests.
252

JB 35 includes a passage in which Miriais mother assumes the role played by Miriais father in JB 34,
accusing Miriai of sexual misbehavior and insisting that she re-embrace Judaism. However, the speech by
Miriais mother is longer than that of her father and will be discussed in greater detail below.

142

The final step on the path to the Lightworld is to fully internalize what it means to
be a Mandaean in relation to other faiths. Right before her apotheosis Miriai announces,
O great uthra [Lightworld being], uthra who the Life has sent. Your brilliance
and your light have gone out over us, and your honor is well tried in the Light
realm. Everyone who listens to your voice will be included in the pure realm. He
will be included in the treasury of Life and your rays will shine on him twofold.
Everyone who does not listen to your voicewaking and asleepwill be wiped
out. He listens to the Jews, the slaves, and all the priests that are the sons of the
maid.253
The Mandaeans are those who embrace the teachings of the Lightworld and are rewarded
because of it, whereas all other religions ignore the truth of the Lightworld at their own
peril. This is the message that precipitates Miriais ascent to the Lightworld, suggesting
that acknowledging the religious truth inherent in Mandaeism, especially with regard to
how this truth sets it apart from competing traditions, is integral to the process whereby a
Mandaean believer transitions from earthly existence to life in the Lightworld.
This sentiment also echoes the message given by the Lightworld being/eagle in
the allegory at the beginning of chapter thirty-five,
Well is it for him who has drunk my water. He who drinks finds healing and
confirmation, and grows to doublethe branches that drank no water brought
forth bitter herbs and wormwood. Woe to those who have not gone forward along
the way. Woe to those who have not passed by the way-stone. They hated Lifes
treasure-house, Miriai, the dear truth.254

253
254

JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138. See fn 37 regarding the identity of the maid.

JB 35.133, Lidzbarski, 130.

143

Reiterating the lesson of the allegory through the penultimate words of Miriai the story
accomplishes two things. Firstly, the use of Miriai to voice a sentiment previously
associated with a Lightworld envoy speaks to the notion that she is becoming part of the
Lightworld. By the end of the story her character is able to assume the auspices of a
Lightworld being, there is no longer any distinction between Miriai and the Lightworld
being. This along with Miriais final ascent is proof that she has achieved the Lightworld
goal of Mandaeism. Secondly, the storys return to the theme of Mandaeisms
superiority has the rhetorical effect of sensitizing the audience to the importance of this
idea. The repetition of the idea that Mandaean religion is the one true faith or the
Lightworld, distinct from all others highlights this belief as fundamental to the
conception of Mandaeism.
Both Miriais assent to the status of a member of the Lightworld and the emphasis
on the Mandaeans religious pre-eminence contribute to the internal formation of
Mandaeisms subjectivity. The former does so because it depicts the culmination of the
process through which the Mandaean goal of entry into the Lightworld is achieved.
Miriais pronouncement about the fate of Mandaeans in comparison to those who practice
other religions marks the final stage in the journey towards the Lightworld. Taken with
the instructions from the three previous steps the storys audience now has a guidebook
outlining what they must do be a Mandaean. All the elements of proper Mandaean
religious behavior appear in conjunction with the character of Miriai and her actions.
From her story it is possible to construct the framework of Mandaean religious identity.
It is an identity predicated on an acceptance of Mandaean religious ideals; unwavering
fidelity to those ideals; whole-hearted devotion to the study and practice of Mandaean

144

teachings and ritual; proper interaction with priestly authority; and acknowledgement of
Mandaeism as the one true religion. These are the building blocks of Mandaean
subjectivity. Their articulation in the context of Miriais story provides the what and the
how for being a Mandaean. Her story gives the Mandaeans a concrete example of the
behavior and beliefs that define Mandaeism, effectively instilling the Mandaeans with a
sense of self.
Recognizing how the stories about Miriai help to articulate the fundamentals of
Mandaeisms religious identity shows that even when the analysis of Miriai is confined to
a reading of the story from the internal perspective of Mandaeism there is something to
be gained for the overall picture the nature of Mandaean religion. But mapping the
beliefs and behaviors that constitute a good Mandaean is not the only thing that Miriai or
her stories contribute to building a fuller comprehension of Mandaeism. To get the rest
of the picture the analysis needs to be extended. Miriai will remain the subject but the
focus must now be oriented beyond the internal concerns of the Mandaean community.

Creating a Connection: Miriai and Islam

Jorunn Buckley, writing about Miriai has described her character as a Mandaean
appropriation of Jesus mother, while later acknowledging that in most of the Mandaean
texts Jesus is completely absent from the stories about Miriai.255 This apparent
contradiction: Miriai is borrowed from the imagery of Christianity but her functionality
within Mandaeism exists in total independence from association with Jesus is a paradox
that potentially stymies the analysis of what the stories about Miriai reveal about the

255

Jorunn Buckley, The Mandaean Appropriation of Jesus Mother, Miriai Novum Testamentum 35, no. 2
(1992): 33-50 and Buckley (2002), 49.

145

nature of Mandaeism because it can fetter the thinking about these stories to the need to
somehow reconcile their existence from within the confines of a Mandaean-Christian
dynamic. The assumption tends to be that since Mary is a Christian figure the Mandaean
appropriation of must be either connected to or comment upon Mandaeisms and
Christianitys relationship with one another.
But what if the appearance of Miriai in Mandaean literature is not about
Mandaeism and Christianity, at least not primarily or directly? The fact that the stories
about Miriai are generally silent with regard to Christianitywhereas attention to
Christianity and anti-Christian polemics regularly appears elsewhere in Mandaean
literatureencourages us to look beyond a purely Christian context for an explanation of
the forces that may have influences the presence of Miriais stories in Mandaeism. 256
Broadening the scope to consider something more than a direct transmission of Miriai
from Christianity to Mandaeism introduces the possibility that the more compelling
parallels between Miriai and another literary figure come not from Christianity but rather
from Islam.
The Mandaean accounts of Miriai share some striking similarities with the Islamic
Miriam who appears in Surahs Three and Nineteen of the Qur`an.257 A careful
comparison of the Mandaean texts with Islamic literature demonstrates that the
commonalities between Miriai and Miriam begin with basic narrative details such as
character or plotline development and continue in to the broader thematic issues with
which both Mandaeism and Islam grapple. The similarities between the Mandaean and

256

For examples of anti-Christian polemics in Mandaean literature see GR 1.198-202, Lidzbarski, 29-30;
GR 2.1.139-150, Lidzbarski, 42-44; GR 2.4, Lidzbarski, 61-62; GR 9.1, Lidzbarski, 223-232; GR 12.1.158159, Lidzbarski, 52-53; JB 11, Lidzbarski, 44-51; JB 30, Lidzbarski, 108-109; Alf Trisar uialia 1.2.250.
257
Sura 19 is actually named Miriam because of her appearance in that chapter of the Qur`an.

146

Muslim traditions with regard to Miriai and Miriam, respectively, creates the impression
that these may be related figures, serving the shared purpose of providing their particular
religious traditions with the means to struggle through and construct a resolution to
certain theological problems.
The initial indication of the commonalities between Miriai and Miriam is apparent
in accounts of their parentage. Miriai is originally the daughter of a leading priestly
Jewish family, The Jews have given birth to me, the priests raised me.258 The Islamic
texts similarly allude to a comparably prominent Jewish lineage for Miriam. According
to Surah Three of the Qur`an Miriam is the child of `Imrn, the descendents of whom are
exalted above all nations by Allah. The Qur`an also says that `Imrn is a notable part of
the familial line that includes Adam, Noah, and Abraham.
Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of
Imrn above all peopleOffspring, one of the otherBehold a woman of
Imrn said: O my Lord! I do dedicate to you what is in my womb for your
special servicewhen she was delivered she, she said: O my Lord! Behold I
am delivered of a female child! And Allah knew best what she brought
forthI have named her Miriam and I commend her and her offspring to your
protection from the Evil One, the Rejected. 259
Among the many things this passage reveals about Miriam is that she is a child of the
family Imrn who is both the patriarch of a leading Jewish family in his own right and
part of the kinship of Abraham. This means that like Miriai, Miriam is born to a king
(i.e. leader) of Jerusalem. The stories of both women see fit to highlight the fact that by

258
259

JB 34:128, Lidzbarski, 126.

Surah 3:33-36.

147

virtue of their parentage Miriai and Miriam hold a special place in the family tree of the
Jewish community.
Further evidence of `Imrns, and by extension Miriams, elite standing within
Judaism is found in Qur`anic commentaries which explain that `Imrn is the also father of
Moses and Aaron.260 Miriams association with Moses and Aaron is an interesting detail
considering that in the Haran Gawaita, an esoteric Mandaean text, Miriai appears
anachronistically as the daughter of Moses but also the mother of Jesus.261 The fractured
timeline associated with Miriai in this Mandaean text might be granted a measure of
clarity, or at least explanation, through reference to the similarly linear chronology
defying kinship ties suggested by Islam. The simultaneous dating of Miriams father to
both the ancient history of the patriarchs and the mid-antiquity era of the rabbis offers a
tradition that parallels the Mandaean suggestion that Miriai belongs to both the time of
Moses and Jesus.
The anachronistic patrimony attested to in these two stories suggests that as far as
the genealogical trees of Miriai and Miriam are concerned the Mandaeans and Muslims
may have been working from a shared tradition. Consider, for example, the substitution
of Moses and `Imrn in the roles of Miriais and Miriams father, respectively. What
initially seems to be a disagreement between the Mandaean and Muslim sources does not
detract from possibility that the Mandaean and Muslim stories reflect a common source
but instead actually lends credence to the idea that the heritage of Miriai and Miriam
coincide. If we begin with the premise that Moses is the son of `Imrn and add to the
notion that Semitic culture allows for some slippage between the roles of male relatives

260
261

See Mahmoud Ayoub, The Quran and Its Interpreters (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1992), 85-105.
Drower HG, 3-4.

148

with regard to female members of their family, identifying Moses as the father of Miriai
is essentially the same as calling her the daughter of `Imrn. In other words the record of
Miriais parentage in the Haran Gawaita mirrors the parentage assigned to Miriam by the
Qur`an.
Related to the notion that Miriai and Miriam enjoy a common parental
background is the fact that both women find themselves in the care of the Jewish
priesthood and bound to the temple at an early age. The Qur`an says Miriams mother,
identified only as the wife of `Imrn, dedicated Miriam to Allah before she was even
born. Muslim tradition also maintains that Zaracharias, the priest to whom the young
Miriam was entrusted, placed her in sealed room in the temple to which only he had
access.262 This description of the Muslim Miriams situation is remarkably similar to the
life Miriai claims she led prior to her conversion to Mandaeism. By her own account
Miriai was raised by the Jewish priests and housed in the temple which she was obliged
to scour and cleanse.263 Islamic commentators like al-Tabar introduce the idea that
Miriam was likewise engaged with the task of caring for the temple when he offers
arguments defending Miriams exceptional fitness for temple service despite the usual
impurities of womanhood.264 The analogous elements that appear in the accounts of
Miriai and Miriams early lives with the Jewish priests and temple draw the Mandaean
and Muslim stories even closer together.
The intersection between the Mandaean and Muslim traditions regarding Miriai
and Miriam can be seen yet again in the charges of sexual impropriety leveled against
both women. The Mandaean texts recount that Miriais father, mother, and the Jewish
262

Surah 3:37, also see Ayoub, 99-105.

JB 34.128, Lidzbarski, 126.
264
Ayoub, 93-94.
263

149

priesthood all attacked her with accusations of illicit relations with an unknown man.
The Qur`an is less explicit in its account of the nature of the transgression with which
Miriam was accused but Surah Nineteen raises the specter that the recriminations were
for sexual misbehavior. When Miriam returns to her family with the immaculately
conceived Jesus they cast dispersions on her, questioning the nature of her situation and
noting that her father was never morally suspect, nor was her mother promiscuous, O
sister of Aaron! Your father was not a man of evil, nor your mother a woman
unchaste!265 The implication here seems to be that Miriam is guilty of sullying her
family honor by returning with an ostensibly illegitimate child. But as also happens in
the Mandaean story about Miriai the Islamic text makes it clear that the charges of sexual
misbehavior directed at Miriam are unfounded. In fact the very thing that suggests her
purity was violated, namely her motherhood of Jesus, is actually understood by Muslims
as proof of Miriams divine favor. Surah Three indicates that the birth of Jesus and his
accomplishments are directly indebted to Miriams status as the woman chosen by Allah
above all womankind,
Behold! The angels said: O Miriam! Allah has chosen you and purified you
chosen you above the women of all nationsBehold! The angels said: O
Miriam! Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from him, his name will be Christ
Jesus. The son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of
those nearest to Allah.266
Childbirth is paradoxically evidence of the irrefutability of her purity rather than a sign of
impurity. A comparable message can be discerned from the Mandaean dealings with

265
266

Surah 19:28.
Surah 3:42-45. Also see Ayoub, 123-135.

150

questions about Miriais supposed sexual impropriety. The Mandaean texts make it clear
that what the Jews interpret as an act of licentiousness, the early morning (re)appearance
of Miriai after a night away from her parents home, is really the innocent consequence of
her profound new religious education,
My brothers made proclamations and my sisters threw out explanations. With the
voice of their proclamations and with the voice of their explanations I became
entranced and I laid myself down on the spot. My brothers went out and did not
wake me, and my sisters withdrew and did not rouse me.267
Miriai did not engage in sexual relations, she received the instruction about the divine
which as her story unfolds sets her apart as one of the most pious of the Mandaeans. This
corresponds nicely with the Islamic image of Miriam as singled out by god because of
her exemplary nature. Both women encounter the divine in a way that causes members
of their former family to unjustifiably doubt their morality, but the women are then
vindicated by the fact that the very thing that prompted uncertainty about their propriety
was the source of their divine election.
The similarities in plotline and character development function as an initial
indication that there is a common thread between Mandaean traditions about Miriai and
Islamic ones about Miriam. The intersection between the two religions dealings with
their respective characters takes on a new and intriguing dimension when the attention
shifts from narrative details to the thematic concerns of the Mandaean and Islamic stories.
Miriai and Miriam are also comparable characters in the sense that they are both used by
Mandaeans and the Muslim, respectively, to address a particular set of theological issues.

267

JB 34.128, Lidzbarski, 127.

151

Each tradition, Mandaeism or Islam, combines the stories about either Miriai or Miriam
with efforts to explicate standards of religious behavior and theories of divine justice.
Among the shared theological themes that shape the stories about these figures is
the Mandaean and Islamic depiction of Miriai and Miriam as models of piety for their
respective religious communities. The texts make a point of presenting Miriai or Miriam
as the ideal expression of the behavior that should be embraced by all members of their
faith. Miriais involvement in the development of Mandaeism ideal image of devotion
has already been discussed. She offers a paradigm for faithful adherence and profession
of Mandaean belief; she embodies the qualities and actions of a Mandaean priest; she is
the perfect believer in every way. On the Islamic side Surah Nineteen builds up proof of
Miriams superlative nature by beginning with a recollection of biblical exemplars,
including Abraham, Moses, Ismail and Idris (Enoch), with an account of Miriams
story.268 According to Islamic belief these men are exception figures, all of whom
behaved in a way that demonstrated true commitment to the divine. The inclusion of
Miriam on this list indicates that Islam counts her among the individuals to whom
Muslims ought to look for guidance as to how they should conduct themselves, even
more so because her story appears first among all the exemplars, suggesting that Miriam
in particular ought to be revered by good Muslims. Given this esteemed company it is
even more interesting that from this list of especially devout figures whose stories are
recounted here in the Qur`an because Muslims consider them particularly worthy of
veneration Islamic tradition chose to name Surah Nineteen after Miriam. This clearly
indicates that Miriam is not just one among a list of models of piety, rather even within
this especially elite group Muslims see fit to emphasize her piety about all others. This is
268

Surah 19:16-58.

152

testimony to the fact that like Miriai Miriam really should be regarded as a source of
inspiration for all Muslims.
Miriams paradigmatic place in Islamic tradition is so pronounced that it extends
beyond the Qur`an to the official commentaries (tafsir). In the commentaries Miriams
piety is routinely equated with that of the women in Muhammads family. Well known
Islamic commentators such as al-Tabar, Ibn Kathr, Qurtub, and Tabars all cite tradition
from well established companions of the Prophet that groups Miriam with Ftimah,
Muhammads daughter; Khadjah, Muhammads first wife; and syah, Pharaohs wife,
as the four best and most pious women among all humankind.269 Al-Tabar reports that
according to the authority of the companion Qatdah, Muhammad said The best of the
women of humankind are Mary daughter of `Imrn, syah wife of Pharaoh, Khadjah
daughter of Khuwaylid, and Ftimah daughter of Muhammad.270 Ibn Kathr takes the
comparison between Miriam and Ftimah even further recording a story from Jbar b.
`Abd Allh al-Ansar, an authoritative early commentator, that parallel the divine favor
Miriam and Ftimah received as a result of their devotion. According to the story
Ftimah finds herself lacking food to feed Muhammad but when she presents him with
what little food she has the food is miraculously multiplied into a feast. Ftimah thanks
god for the bounty and Muhammad replies,
Praise to be to God who made you, O daughter, like the mistress of the Children
of Israel, for whenever God provided her with some sustenance, and she was

269
270

Ayoub, 97; 100-102 &122-125.

Ayoub, 123.

153

asked concerning it, she would say, It is from God! Surely God provides
whomsoever He wills without reckoning.271
The mistress of the Children of Israel is Miriam. Muhammad is referring here to a scene
from Surah Three in which Miriam is found in her locked room in the Jewish temple
with an abundance of food the presence of which she credits to the intercession of the
divine.272
The implication of Muhammads comments is that Miriam and Ftimah are
comparable figures. They both miraculously received food in a time of need and they
both had the pious insight to immediately credit and praise god for their bounty. The
conflation of Miriam and Ftimah is notable because Islam, especially Shia Islam, which
is the type of Islam found in the region surrounding the Mandaeans, has a well
established tradition of looking to Ftimah as a role model for Islamic behavior.273 If
Muslims equate Miriam with Ftimah in the ways that the commentaries suggests she is
then it follows that Miriam also occupies a position of paradigmatic piety comparable to
Fatimah, which in turn means Miriam serves the same purpose for Islam as Miriai does
for Mandaeism.
Like Miriam and Ftimah, Miriai also garners special attention from the divine.
As has been previously mentioned, the Lightworld being Anu appears in GR 15.11 to act
as a doctor to the wounded Miriai.274 The actions of Anu in the Ginza mirror those of
the unnamed birdlike Lightworld being in chapter thirty-five of the Book of John who

271

Ayoub, 101.
Surah 3:37.
273
See Zaya Kassam-Hann, Transcendence and the Body: Fatimah as a Paradigmatic Model 84 Feminist
Theology 10 no. 30 (2002): 77-93; also Jane D. McAuliffe, Chosen of All Women: Mary and Fatima in
Qur`anic Exegesis Islmochristiana VII (1981): 19-28.
274
GR 15.11, Lidzbarski, 343.
272

154

swoops down from the Lightworld, both in the allegory and in the events of Miriais
actual story, to be an advocate and protector for Miriai.275 During her moment of need
the Lightworld provided for Miriai, just like Allah graced Miriam and Ftimah with food
when they would have otherwise gone hungry. This otherworldly concern for all three
women suggests that they enjoy extraordinary favor with the divine. The Mandaean texts
also create the impression that for Miriai, as with Miriam and Ftimah in Islam, this
elevated status puts her in a position to be emulated by her fellow Mandaeans.
The thematic concern for the exceptional piety of Miriai and Miriam carries over
to perceptions of their position of religious leadership within their respective
communities. The image of Miriai and Miriam as communal sources of religious
authority is related to the idea that they function as role models for the Mandaeans or
Muslims, but it is distinctive in the sense that the women are not leaders simply because
of their paradigmatic nature but rather because they are seen to occupy the roles that have
been deemed the official positions of religious leadership by Mandaeism and Islam,
respectively. On the Mandaean side Miriai steps into this official role when she assumes
the identity of a priest. She distinguishes herself from all the other female characters in
Mandaean literature by taking on the full garb and accoutrements of the Mandaean
priesthood. Jorunn Buckley notes that priestly nature of Miriai is established when the
Jews find her,
Sitting on her throne, book in lap, priestly staff (margna) in hand and priestly belt
(himiana) enclosing her waist, Miriai presides with a priestly banner (draba)
stuck into the earth beside her. As she reads, the worlds shake. She prays and

275

JB 35:132-136 & 142-143, Lidzbarski, 129-133 & 137-138.

155

preaches, while fishes and birds listen in rapt attention. Sweet riha (incense)
envelops her entranced, wide-awake audience.276
Miriais appearance and the duties in which she engagedpraying and preachingare
all characteristic of a Mandaean priest.277 These things, along with later images of Miriai
doing the priestly job of giving kut to the Lightworld being, clearly indicate that Miriai
is functioning in the capacity an official religious leader of the Mandaeans.
For Miriam it is the possibility that she is a prophet rather than a priest that gives
her status as an official religious leader within Islam. Muslims assign the highest degree
of religious authority to prophethood. Prophets are the chosen messengers of god, the
ones especially selected to convey the truth of the divine. According to Islam
Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses were all prophets of the highest order278, while Abraham,
Noah, David, Elijah, and various other biblical characters qualified as secondary
prophets.279 There is a direct correlation in Islamic belief between the mantle of
prophecy and the leadership of the religious community. In the case of Miriam, the
Qur`an is unclear as to whether or not she should be regarded as a prophet, but in
commentaries there is a lively debate about Miriams status which suggests that at least
some portion of the Muslim population considered her one of the prophets. The
commentator Qurtub gave two reasons for counting Miriam among the prophets. The
first was her perfection,
Absolute perfection belongs to God alone. But there is no doubt that the most
perfect of humankind are the prophets, then the friends of God (awliy) among
276

Buckley (2002), 51. Buckleys description of the priestly Miriai is based on JB 35.137.
See Drower (1937), 30-40 for a description of the ritual dress and insignia of modern Mandaean priests
which is comparable to the image of Miriai in the Book of John.
278
Rasul, life-long prophets who came with a book.
279
Nabi, temporary prophets usually with a specific message or warning.
277

156

the righteous, the martyrs, and those who are pious. If this be so, then it may be
added that some have asserted that the perfection mentioned in this hadith means
prophethood. This would mean that Mary and siyah were prophetesses, as some
have argued.280
The second proof of Miriams prophethood cited by Qurtub is the annunciation she
receives from the angel, the truth is that Mary was a prophetess because God
communicated revelation (wah) to her through an angel, as He did to other prophets.281
Other commentators such as Rz rejected claims of Miriams prophethood explaining
that the angel Gabriels visit was a miracle given either to show that she was favored, like
a saint, or to confirm the status of Jesus, but not to identify her as a prophet.282 However,
the very fact that Rz developed an argument to refute Miriams prophethood indicates
there was a tradition within Islam of seeing Miriam as a prophet otherwise there would be
no need to argue against such an idea. If some portion of the Muslim population did
accord the status of prophethood to Miriam this also means that among some Muslims
she was also perceived as having achieved a level of religious leadership within Islam
comparable to the images of Miriai as a Mandaean priest.
Within the context of considering the possibility of Miriams prophethood and
comparing that role to the perceived priesthood of Miriai it is interesting to note that the
Mandaean texts charge Miriai with the prophet-like responsibility of proclaiming one of
the key messages of the Lightworld. At the conclusion of chapter thirty-five Miriai tells
those gathered around her that followers of Mandaeism will enjoy divine reward but

280

Qurtub quoted in Ayoub, 124.

Ayoub, 124 & 132.
282
Ayoub, 125.
281

157

apostates and non-believers will be punished for their disbelief.283 Miriai makes her
pronouncement immediately after exchanging kut with the Lightworld being,
suggesting that like the angels that visit prophets in the Islamic conception of
prophethood a Lightworld envoy is perhaps responsible for inspiring Miriai to
disseminate her message. It is the job of a prophet to spread the teachings of the divine
given to them by a holy intermediary, so by Islamic standards Miriai appears to be acting
as a prophet when she outlines the benefits or consequences of either embracing or
rejecting the teachings of Mandaeism.
The prophethood or priesthood, piety, and evidence of divine favor shown to
Miriai and Miriam all point to the conclusion that Mandaeism and Islam have an
overlapping tendency of portraying these characters as paradigms for their respective
religious communities. Thematically the Mandaean texts about Miriai and the Islamic
tradition surrounding Miriam share the common theological goal of articulating the
standards of religious behavior. Both traditions turn to the example set by a particular
young woman to achieve this goal. Miriai and Miriam each function as a means by
which practitioners of their respective religion can model themselves after what is
expected of an ideal believer of that faith. This is yet another tantalizing correspondence
between the Mandaean and Islamic characters of Miriai and Miriam along with the
thematic content of the traditions about them that argues for the existence of Islamic
influence over the appearance of supposedly Jewish or Christian figures in Mandaean
literature.

283

JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138. This is the same message as was given by the Lightworld envoy earlier in
the story, see JB 35.133-136, Lidzbarski, 130-133.

158

Another interesting point of theological convergence between Mandaeism and

Islam that arises in conjunction with Miriai and Miriam is to be found within the context
of the content of the seemingly prophet-making message Miriai. Miriais message is a
final reiteration of the punishment that awaits those who reject Mandaeism. This is a
theme that appears repeatedly in Mandaean texts about Miriai. In GR 15.11Anu initially
appears to aid Miriai but after the Jews attack and kill Mandaean priests Anu receives
permission from the Great Life (the ruling deity of the Lightworld, also known as the
Life) to punish the Jews. The destruction of the Jews by Anu is presented as divine
retribution for the blasphemy of the Jewish community.284 Similarly chapter thirty-five
of the Book of John outlines the dire fate of non-believers not once but four times. The
suffering that will be experienced by those who fail to embrace Mandaeism is first
described as part of the allegory which opens the chapter. Responding to questions about
the birds that did not hold fast to Mandaeism, the Lightworld Eagle says,
Do not desire to learn, my brothers, what has become of those birds. Slingshots
drove them far from my way, their wings broke, they were torn off, broken, they
went off and relied upon birdcatchers.285 The ordained and the sparrow hawk
circled around them, tore at pieces of their flesh and ate of those which were
fat.286
Later in the same passage the Eagle laments the comforts lost by those who hate the truth
of Miriai (i.e. Mandaeism).287 Miriai also alludes to the theme of punishment for nonbelievers when she tells her mother that the Jews that have accused her of immorality will

284

GR 15.11:331-334, Lidzbarski, 341-344.

Other religions.
286
JB 35.134, Lidzbarski, 131-132.
287
JB 35.135, Lidzbarski, 133.
285

159

find themselves buried in the Darkness.288 Echoing the actions of Anu in GR 15.11,
chapter thirty-five then broaches the notion of divine reprimand for a third time with the
appearance of a Lightworld being (presumably Anu) who drowns the Jews, destroys the
temple and burns down Jerusalem because Judaism positioned itself in opposition to
Mandaeism.289 Finally Miriai emphasizes the threat of punishment one last time with the
story ending pronouncement that while the Mandaeans enjoy the favor of the divine
everyone who does not listen to your voicethe waking or the sleepingwill be
destroyed.290 Throughout the story of Miriai the message is clear: those who do not
embrace the religion of the Mandaeans will suffer the wrath of the divine. The text
repeats this idea so often that it appears that one of the primary goals of the story is to
establish exactly what Mandaeism believes will be the ultimate fate of those who practice
other religions.
This concern for the fortune of competing faiths is also clearly present in the
Islamic literature about Miriam. In both Surah Three and Nineteen the story of Miriam is
couched in a more general discussion or warning about the punishment that will be meted
out to people who reject Islam or continue to indulge in false beliefs. Within the first few
verses of Surah Three the Qur`an warns, Those that deny Gods revelations shall be
sternly punished; God is mighty and capable of revenge.291 This admonishment applies
broadly to anyone who does not practice Islam but in the context of Surah Three, and
especially in the section that includes Miriams story, the focus is on the ominous
consequences of adherence to the flawed beliefs of Judaism and Christianity. Speaking

288

JB 35.141, Lidzbarski, 137.

JB 35.141-142, Lidzbarski, 137-138.
290
JB 35.142, Lidzbarski 138.
291
Surah 3:5.
289

160

to the People of the Book, a common Islamic moniker for Jews and Christian, the Qur`an
alludes to corruption in their ranks and cautions that because they have violated their
covenant with God they shall have no share in the world to come. God will neither
speak to them, nor look at them, nor purify them on the Day of Resurrection. Theirs shall
be a woeful punishment.292 The rest of the Surah continues along these lines, reminding
the faithful Muslims of their duty to God and threatening the demise of all other religions,
We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. They serve other deities
besides God for whom He has revealed no sanction. The Fire shall be their home:
dismal indeed is the dwelling of the evil-doers.293
And again in verses 3:177-178,
Those that barter way their faith for unbelief will in no way harm God. Woeful
punishment awaits them. Let not the unbelievers think that We prolong their days
for their own good. We give them respite only so that they may commit more
grievous sins. Shameful punishment awaits them.
Surah Nineteen also takes up this theme of woe unto non-Muslims. It presents
Miriam along with a number of other notable biblical figures as examples of individuals
that have devoted themselves to god in true Islamic fashion. Their stories are meant to
act as prophylactics against the danger of lapsing into non-Islamic belief. For example
the Qur`an counterbalances its account here of Miriams exceptional piety with a
reference to discord within the Christian community that has distracted Christianity from
its focus on the message of Jesus, which Muslims believe is only true basis for Christian
religion and has caused it to orientate its theology towards issues that Muslims believe

292
293

Surah 3:77.
Surah 3:150-151.

161

caused Christianity forfeit its religious status with the divine. In response to the religious
fallacies that Christianity appears to be embracing the Qur`an says, Forewarn them of
that woeful day, when Our decree shall be fulfilled while they heedlessly persist in
unbelief.294 The Surah also explains that anyone who denies Islam or has chosen
deities other than God to help them will come to naught, be tormented by devils and
eventually driven into hell by God and righteous.295
The repeated warnings about the dire consequences that will befall non-Muslims
found in Surahs Three and Nineteen indicates that the topic of divine judgment is
thematic of these two chapters of the Qur`an. It also shows that within Islam, discussions
of the fate of those who do not believe appear to be closely linked to the story of Miriam.
The merging of warnings about divine punishment with Miriam in Islamic thought
parallels the connection between the threat of divine wrath and Miriai found in Mandaean
literature. Both Islam and Mandaeism seem to have a tradition of merging the stories of
Miriam and Miriai, respectively, with the exposition of their views on the fortune
awaiting members of other religions. The Islamic Miriam and Mandaean Miriai share the
responsibility of functioning as a figure through which their respective religions can
articulate a theology of providence. That both Islam and Mandaeism see fit to use the
stories of Miriam and Miriai in a similar fashion, to address the same theological issue
highlights another significant point of convergence between Islam and the appearance of
Miriai in Mandaean literature.
Looking back over the stories of Miriai and Miriam parallels can be found with
regard to everything from the narrative details of their paternity; service to the Jewish

294
295

Surah 19.39.
Surah 19:77-95.

162

temple during their youth; and allegations of sexual impropriety to thematic concerns
about Miriai and Miriams exceptional piety, their position of leadership within their
religious communities and their connection to theological discussions of divine judgment.
Attention needs to be given to these various narrative and thematic parallels because the
recognition of their existence heralds a whole new approach to the interpretation of
Mandaean literature and especially to perceptions of the role Judaism and Christianity
have played in the formation of Mandaean religious identity. Previously the assumption
was that the appearance of Jewish or Christian motifs, characters and so forth was
evidence of a link between Mandaeism and Judaism or Christianity. But given the way in
which the Mandaean treatment of the supposedly Christian based figure of Miriai so
closely parallels the Muslim Miriam the notion that appearance of Miriai has greater
affinity with imagery from Islamic literature, and thus says more about the Mandaeans
sense of identity in relation to the Muslims, needs to be considered.
One possibility raised by the similarities found in the Mandaean narratives
about Miriai and the Islamic tradition of Miriam is that the development of the character
Miriai may have been partially influenced by an exchange of ideas between the
Mandaeans and Muslims. This is not to say that the Christian Mary, mother of Jesus, is
not the point of reference for either the Mandaean Miriai or Islamic Miriam but that for
Mandaeism traditions about Miriai may not have emerged as the result of a direct
transmission from Christianity.296 This view is certainly supported by the notable
disassociation of Miriai with the birth of Jesus. Of all the many appearances Miriai in
296

Support for the idea of indirect transmission of Biblical material to the Arab and Iranian world can be
found in Camilla Adangs book, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible (New York: Brill,
1996), especially chapter 1 The Reception of Biblical Materials in Early Islam 1-22; also see Alan
Dundes, Fables of the Ancients? Folklore in the Qur`an (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers,
2003).

163

Mandaean literature only one makes reference to a connection with Jesus and even this is
vague, saying that Miriai the daughter of Moses gave birth to a messiah.297 Aside from
this the stories of Miriai are utterly devoid of any association with Jesus.298 The
perception of the Mary as the mother of Jesus which is so central to Christian tradition
appears to have no relevance for Mandaean portrayals of Miriai. Instead what seem to
make Miriai focal to the Mandaean audience are her identity as a paradigmatic convert to
Mandaeism and her image as a devout practitioner of Mandaeism. Her story appears in
Mandaean literature as a platform for the expression of Mandaean theology.
Using Miriai to exemplify or articulate the religious doctrine of Mandaeism is
more keeping with the way in which Biblical characters tend to function in the Qur`an.
When Biblical figures appear in the Qur`an often it is not in the context of a larger
historical narrative as is the case within the Hebrew Bible but rather they appear
individually, usually within a self contained narrative and are used to explicate a
particular Islamic ideal. Such is the case in Surah Twelve which tells story of Joseph.
The Qur`anic story of Joseph follows the same general narrative outline as does the tale
of Joseph found in the Hebrew Bible. However there is enough variation in detail and
emphasis that a focus on the Muslim concept of prophethood emerges as the primary
purpose of the Joseph Surah.299 The depiction of Joseph as an embodiment for the idea
of messenger-ship in Surah Twelve along with the use of Miriam in both Surah Three and
Nineteen as a model of piety speak to the Muslim practice of relying on biblical
297

Drower HG, 3. The story does not actually identify Miriais child as Jesus. It is only from the context
which reports he became a False Messiah and created a group called the Christians that it can be
determined that this is Jesus.
298
The charges of sexual impropriety that appear in JB 34 & 35 could and have been read as corrupted
remnants of the Christian tradition of a virgin birth. However, it is also a traditional polemical trope within
the ancient antique world of talking about conversion in sexual terms and imagery, therefore the questions
about Miriais sexual behavior could be a reflection of this phenomenon.
299
Marilyn Waldman, Biblical Materials in the Quran Muslim World 75, (2001):1-16.

164

characters as moral exemplars, which also appears to be present in the Mandaean

handling of Miriai. This affinity for the usage of biblical characters as conduits for
theological commentary suggests Mandaean understandings of the biblical characters
may owe more to the Islamic treatment of these figures than by that of either Judaism or
Christianity.

165

Chapter 5
Miriai and The Jews
Creating the Other: Miriai and Judaism
In the Mandaean stories about her Miriai is, naturally, the focal character but in
many ways her actions and the lessons to be learned from them are only half the story.
The other half belongs to the collective appearance of the roles the Jews assume in
relation to Miriai throughout the course of the story. As the members of Miriais former
biological and communal family, as well as the force of opposition that threatens Miriais
Mandaeism the various Jewish figures in the Mandaean narratives combine to serve as a
foil for Miriai and her role as an expression of ideal piety. The dimension added to plight
of Miriai through the depiction and actions of the Jewish characters make them an
integral part of the narrative, its purpose, and meaning. Consequently, a comprehensive
analysis of the contributions that the stories about Miriai make to the understanding of the
nature of Mandaean religion is not complete without a discussion of the image of the
Jews in the stories and what implications can be derived from their depiction.
It is one of the foundational principles of post-colonial theory that the process of
identity formation relies heavily on the concept of the Other.300 The Other is the
antithesis, the second half of a dynamic polarity. It manifests all the characteristics that
the subject group does not, and it is through negation: we are what they are not that the
Other helps to shape identity. Although the concept of othering was originally applied to
modern societies, some post-colonial theory has been shown to be a relevant frame
through which to view cultures from a range of time periods, including the late antique

300

See Edward W. Said, Orientalism (New York: Vintage Books, 1978).

166

era in which the Mandaeans and Muslims would have first interacted. The dynamics
through which othering is used as a means for the creation of identity can be applied to
the scholarship on the Mandaeans in a way comparable to that of its use among the
subaltern populations of modernity. For the Mandaeans the role of the Other is
consistently played by the Jews.301 Judaism is the false religion, born of the Darkness
rather than the Lightworld, bound to Ruha and her son instead of the Lightworld beings.
According to the Mandaeans, the Jews are the persecutors of Mandaeism who will
ultimately suffer for their erroneous beliefs. These are the ways in which the Jews come
to assume the role of the Other in comparison to the Mandaeans.
Not surprisingly the portrayal of the Jews in the Mandaean stories about Miriai
follows this pattern of othering. Judaism is the false religion abandoned by Miriai; its
priests are her tormentors, and its members are to be punished because of their beliefs.
These are just some of the negative qualities assigned to the character of the Jews in the
course of Miriais story. Yet for all their oppositional qualities the Jews, their opinions
and reactions seem to dominate the perspective from which the story of Miriais
conversion to Mandaeism is related. After Miriai, the Jews provide the most prominent
voice of the narrative. The acute attention the story pays to the Jewish response to the
events associated with Miriais initially may seem a bit incongruous for a Mandaean text,
but it is keeping with the post-colonial assertion that concern for the Other actually
reveals more about the othering group than it does about the Other. The persistence with

301

The Mandaean othering of the Jews offers an interesting twist on the theme of the Other and the
formation of subjectivity. In most studies the Other is an identity assigned to a subjugated group by those
in power, for example the colonized as described by Western Colonialists. However in the case of the
Mandaeans it is the subjugated group that is producing the image of the Other. Whether the Jews, who the
Mandaeans cast as the Other, actually occupied the position of subjugators in relationship to Mandaeism
remains open to debate.

167

which Jewish-Other shares the stage with Miriai throughout the course of her story
demonstrates that the way the Jewish characters are depicted in these stories actually
reveals how their images functioned as a means for constructing the religious identity of
Mandaeism.
As with the construction of Mandaeisms internal sense of self that can be gleaned
from the depictions of Miriai, the Mandaean understanding of the Jews that is recorded in
Miriais stories offers a step by step process for explaining how the Mandaeans used
Judaism and the Jews as a trope to encode a Mandaean sense of subjectivity. An analysis
of the imagery of the Jews and the various roles they are assigned in the unfolding of the
Miriai narratives highlights the degree to which the Jews function as a means for the
Mandaeans to articulate the constructs of Mandaean religion.
Perhaps the most dominant image of Judaism that emerges in relation to Miriai is
that which places the Jews in the role of Mandaeisms ultimate antagonists. Starting with
the passages that record only passing references to Miriai the Jews appear as enemies of
Mandaeism. For example in GR 15.11 it is the Jews who kill the 365 tarmidia descended
from Miriai.302 This murderous behavior is the culmination of the violence wrought by
Judaism that just a few verses earlier also has the Jews injuring Miriai during their Ruha
inspired attempts to gain dominance over Jerusalem.303 This theme of Jewish animosity
towards the Mandaeans reappears in chapters thirty-four and thirty-five of the Book of
John. Miriais conversion from Judaism to Mandaeism is the first signal of the
existenceat least in textual sourcesof an adversarial relationship between the two
religions. The circumstances surrounding the conversion are secretive and cloaked with a

302
303

GR 15.11:331-332, Lidzbarski, 341.

GR 15.11:331, Lidzbarski, 340-341.

168

sense of danger. Miriai must be surreptitious in her journey to Mandaeism and once she
has found the Mandaeans she is warned that her association with them will bring the
wrath of the Jewish community, Get up, get up Miriaibefore the priests and the priests
sons go forth and sit in the shade of the ruined Jerusalem; before you bodily father comes
and brings ruin upon you, such as you have never known.304 The secrecy and caution
associated with Miriais conversion and the Jewish threat of violence in response to
Miriais actions highlights a tension between the Jewish and Mandaean community. It
creates the sense that these are completing traditions, rival faiths, and that it is not an
inconsequential event to select one over the other.
The antagonism between the Jews and the Mandaeans is made more explicit in a
diatribe by the newly converted Miriai in which she contrasts Judaism with Mandaeism
claiming that she despises the former while adoring the latter, Far lies it from me to love
that which I have hated. Far lies it from me to hate that which I have loved.305 The
opposition between the two religions is voiced by Miriai but since Mandaeism is wont to
project Miriai as its paradigmatic believer her assessments of Mandaeism and Judaism,
the loved and the hated respectively, ought to be regarded as representative of the general
Mandaean view of the two faiths. In other words, Mandaeans see the Jews as their
antithesis, the false religion that stands as the Darkness borne counterbalance to the
Lightworld sanctioned existence of Mandaeism. Miriai clearly states that the Jews are
the hated group whereas the Mandaeans are the loved community, and as such enmity
and conflict comes to define the Mandaean view of their relationship.

304
305

JB 34:129, Lidzbarski, 127.

JB 34:131, Lidzbarski, 129.

169

In addition to being appositionally paired with the Mandaeans the Jews assume
the role of antagonist in this context because they refuse to give Miriai leave to embrace
Mandaeism. Confronted with her conversion the Jews pursue Miriai insisting she return
to her former faith. In chapter thirty-four Miriais father pleads with her to forsake
Mandaeism for Judaism.306 This scene is repeated in chapter thirty-five where in place of
her father, Miriais mother begs her to reconsider her conversion,
My daughter, arise, come back to your dwelling place, the city of Jerusalem.
Come, illuminate your lamps, which have been put out from the day you
withdrew yourself. Have no longing after this man who has imprisoned you and
taken you away. Leave the man, who is not of your dwelling place, alone by
himself in the world. Do not let him say, I have gone and carried Miriai away
from her place.307
The actions of Miriais parents, who the stories initially identify as leading members of
the Jewish community, project an image of Judaism as an affront to religious life of the
Mandaeans. The story of Miriai depicts the Jews as attempting to undermine the
religious will of a novice member of Mandaeism and trying to lure her away from her
beliefs. Through the characters of Miriais father and mother, the text sets up Judaism as
the religious rivals (notably losing) of the Mandaeans.
Her father and mothers harassing efforts to dissuade Miriai from her commitment
to Mandaeism are just one in a series of torments that Miriai must endure from the Jews.
According to the story Judaisms rivalry with Mandaeism also manifests itself in the form
of the persecution of Miriai by the Jews. The victimization of Miriai by the Jewish

306
307

JB 34:130-131, Lidzbarski, 127-128.

JB 35:138-140, Lidzbarski, 134-136.

170

community at large begins in the form of a character assignation. After her conversion
the Jews are intent on disparaging Miriai by impugning her virtue. Beginning with her
father, the Jews accuse Miriai of sexual impropriety. More specifically they dismiss her
new found affinity for Mandaeism as an instance of sexual misconduct. When her father
first encounters Miriai after her conversion he slanders her saying, Where do you come
from, you whorish trough, which bars [can]not [keep]?308 Where do you come from, you
bitch in heat, which locks and bars [can]not keep?.309 The sexual connotations of her
fathers questioning are clear. He wants to cast the conversion of Miriai not as a religious
experience but as a violation of her purity. That he regards her decision to become a
Mandaean an act of sexual misbehavior is made explicit by the fact that in answer to his
own questions about Miriais whereabouts he repeatedly says she was off loving her
lord, implying that they were engaging in sex.310 The Jewish priests in chapter thirtyfive echo this charge of sexual transgression by accusing Miriai of acting out
wantonness when she joined the Mandaeans.311 Faced with the defection of Miriai to
Mandaeism the Jews defame her character suggesting she is a lustful, even slutty, young
woman who has betrayed Judaism not for a higher truth but rather out of licentiousness.
According to them she is motivated by base physical desires not a religious calling,
immorality not piety guided her actions.
Placing these accusations of sexual depravity in the mouths of the Jews seems to
represent a creative twist on the stock polemic charge of sexual depravity often leveled
against competing religions. Normally the association with sexual immorality would
308

The text is corrupt but Lidzbarski believes that the corrupt section refers to the inability of bars to
contain Miriai. See Lidzbarski, 127-128 fn9.
309
JB 34:130, Lidzbarski, 127-128.
310
JB 34:130-131, Lidzbarski, 129.
311
JB 35:140-141, Lidzbarski, 136-137.

171

serve to discredit a religion but in this case rhetoric alleging sexual misbehavior turns
against the Jews and becomes clear proof of their utter ignorance and thus the falsehood
of their own belief. The Mandaean stories pointedly dismiss any basis for the claims of
Miriais sexual impropriety. Miriai calls the Jews accusing her fools and tells them I
am no woman who is undressed for sexual offence and it is not that I have made love to a
man. I am not undressed returning to you and coming back to you with the cup of
sacrilege.312 Earlier, in chapter thirty-four, Miriai similarly denies any wrong doing by
provocatively challenging her father to actually disown her if she has really committed
the transgressions he claims she committed, If I am a bit of coarse stuff that is stuck to
your robe then cut and detach me from your robe.313 Notably although her father
continues to question Miriais propriety he never follows through on the threat to
disowner her. The implication of Miriais challenge to her father and his failure to meet
it is that if his accusations were true than he would be obligated to act against her but
since there is no truth to what he is saying he does not, because he cannot (justifiably),
disown her. In spite of their pleas for her return the Jews take on the role of attacking and
belittling Miriai. The stories depict them behaving in ways that are unwarrantedly cruel
and hateful towards her. In the end all the talk about Miriais sexual transgressions are
actually Jewish lies which prove not that Mandaeism is morally corrupt but rather that it
is Judaism, with its inability to recognize the truth, wallows in the depravity of falsehood.
The efforts to impugn the morality of Miriai are indicative of the prosecutorial
attitude which the Jews take towards Miriai throughout the narrative. In addition to

312

JB 35:140, Lidzbarski, 137. I have translated the second sentence loosely. The grammar is somewhat
unclear but contextually it seems to be a continuation of Miriais repudiation of the charges of sexual
transgression which the Jewish priests have leveled against her.
313
JB 34:130, Lidzbarski, 128-129.

172

slandering Miriai with accusations of sexual misconduct the Jews plot to harm her
because of her conversion to Mandaeism. Speaking about Miriai and her new found faith
in Mandaeism the Jewish priests threaten, We will murder them and make Miriai
despised throughout Jerusalem. We will erect a stake for the Man who ruined Miriai and
has taken her away.314 The violence proposed by the Jewish priests is directed at both
Miriai and the ManMandaeismwhich took her away. The Jews intend to kill both
of them. From the Mandaean perspective this appears to be a declaration of a two
pronged attack on their religion. The Jewish priests are calling for the persecution of
both Mandaeism itself (i.e. the Man) and those who believe in it (i.e. Miriai). The Jews
are depicted as proclaiming an all out war against the Mandaeans.
That the Jews were to be seen as the persecutors Miriai and by extension the
Mandaeans is also apparent in the allegory that opens chapter thirty-five. In his final
speech to the birds/Mandaeans that have stayed true to the tree/Miriai the Lightworld
eagle admonishes them to stay faithful in the face of persecution and then condemns the
persecutors,
Woe to the Jews, who were a persecution to Miriai! Woe to Elizar, the great
house, the pillar that props up the temple! Woe to Zatan-Estuna, who has
witnessed lies against Miriai.315
There is no question that the allegory seeks to establish that the Jews were the source of
Miriais torments. The eagle from the Lightworld specifically identifies the Jews and
even names Elizar, who according to the description is probably the head Jewish priest,
as the ones who spread lies against Miriai and otherwise persecuted her.

314
315

JB 35:136-137, Lidzbarski, 133.

JB 35:136, Lidzbarski, 133.

173

The combined images of the Jews as those who slander Miriais good character
with foolish and baseless accusations of sexual misbehavior and who issue death threats
against her for her beliefs, as well as the outright identification of the Jews as the
tormentors of Miriai create a picture of Judaism as the ultimate source of persecution
against the Mandaeans. This is an important commentary on the way in which the
Mandaeans understand Judaism in relation to their own faith. The texts make it clear that
Miriai embodies the ideal Mandaean believer and as such her character can rightly be
considered a surrogate for Mandaeism in general. This means that when the Jews attack
her they are actually attacking Mandaeism. When they attempt to debase the experience
of her conversion as nothing more than an illicit sexual encounter the Jews can be seen as
actually trying to deny the religiosity of Mandaean belief. The charges of immorality
leveled by the Jews against Miriai extend to Mandaeism, its beliefs and practices.
Likewise the call to kill Miriai is a call to do violence against all Mandaeans. Outing the
Jews as the persecutors of Miriai symbolically outs the Jews as the persecutors of all of
Mandaeism. The stories about Miriai imagine Judaism to be the constant thorn in the
side of Mandaeism. Judaism is positioned as the tradition that stands in opposition to
everything that defines Mandaeism.
All of the images of the Jews found in the Miriai narratives seek to portray
Judaism as a danger to Mandaeism. For example, by failing to acknowledge the truth of
Miriais conversion, the Jews refuse to accord Mandaeism any status as a religious
system to which one can aspire. On the other hand the Jews are also regarded as
dangerous because in threatening the lives of those who practice Mandaeism Judaism is
shown to be trying to eliminate Mandaeism because the Jews realize that the ultimate

174

truth of Mandaean religion poses a challenge to the legitimacy of Judaism. From either
perspective, whether the Jews are denying Mandaeism religious authority or trying to
eradicate it, Judaism is cast as a threat to well being of Mandaean religion. The Jew as
the nemesis of Mandaeism is the preeminent image of Judaism that emerges from the
stories about Miriai and the audience of the Mandaean texts dealing with Miriai is
invited, even encouraged, to see the Jews as antagonists to the Mandaeans.
Such imagery has led scholars to speculate that there was a historical enmity
between Judaism and Mandaeism, that the latter portrayed the Jews as rivals because
there is a schismatic connection between the two. With regard to what the Mandaean
depictions of Judaism can reveal about the religious subjectivity of the Mandaeans this is
an interesting but problematic theory. Certain tantalizing parallels can be drawn between
certain Jewish and Mandaean rituals, language or beliefs but ultimately the evidence does
not lead to a conclusive determination of kinship. 316 The lack of a historically verifiable
animosity between Mandaeism and Judaism does not, however, disqualify the depictions
of such from illuminating the construction of Mandaeisms religious identity. Whether or
not the Mandaeans actually suffered persecution from the Jews, the appearance of the
Jews as persecutors in Mandaean literature serves the purpose of helping the Mandaeans
negotiate an understanding of their own subjectivity.
The purported rivalry with Judaism lends structure to the religious self of
Mandaeism by creating an explicit connection between the two religions. An

316

This is the position taken by Daniel Cohn-Sherbok, The Gnostic Mandaeans and Heterodox Judaism,
Hebrew Union College Annual 54 (1983): 147-151; and Nathaniel Deutsch, The Gnostic Imagination:
Gnosticism, Mandaeism and Merkabah Mysticism, (Leiden: Brill, 1995). However the issue of Jewish
origins is challenged by Edwin Yamauchi in Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins and Svend Aage Pallis,
Mandaean Studies.

175

antagonistic relationship presumes interaction. It is not possible to take exception with

the unknown; opposition requires at least a modicum of familiarity. Consequently when
Mandaean literature casts the Jews as the persecutors of Mandaeism it also implies a
certain, significant, degree of connection between Judaism and the Mandaeans. The
Miriai stories suggest Judaism knows about Mandaeism, is aware of Mandaean religion
and its practices. This may be of course a creative literary sleight of hand on the part of
the Mandaean texts. Historically speaking it is unclear how well or even if Judaism was
familiar with Mandaeism. However in terms of identity construction creating the
impression that the Jews were well informed about the religion of the Mandaeans is very
important. If Mandaeism was of no consequence Judaism would have never noticed it.
But in the Mandaean texts the Jews not only notice Mandaeism, they seem to take a
particular interest in Mandaean religion. That the Jews are willing to get involved in a
rivalry with Mandaeism, as is demonstrated by the Jewish attempts to un-convert
Miriai, indicates that Mandaeism was religiously significant enough to cause Judaism
concern. The stories about Miriai use the Jews to demonstrate that Mandaeism registered
with other religions. Being recognized by Judaism affords Mandaean religion status. It
identifies Mandaeism as a belief system that merits notice, which is worthy of the
attention of other religions. By making Judaism aware of Mandaeism, Mandaean
literature gives Mandaeism a subjectivity which identifies them as a notable force among
the expressions of religious belief. Mandaeism is a religion that is recognized as such by
other religions. This is a particularly poignant facet in the development of the religious
identity of the Mandaeans because although it has actually been constructed internally,
the stories present it as an external assessment of what Mandaeism is. The stories make it

176

so that the Jews, vis--vis their decision to enter into an antagonistic relationship with the
Mandaeans, are responsible for acknowledging the religiosity of Mandaeism. The texts
add to perceptions of Mandaean subjectivity by giving it a point of reference that
supposedly comes from outside the community.

The Mandaean Image of Judaism and its Islamic Parallels

Mandaeism obviously benefits from their depictions of the Jews as Mandaeisms
antagonistic other, so the question of why profess to have such a troubled relationship
with another religion appears to be answered. However there is still the question of why
this particular religion, why Judaism? One answer to this has been to suggest that the
othering of the Jews is borne out the history reality of a fractured former kinship. This
theory maintains that at some point in their past the Mandaeans were probably related to
Judaism but that the Mandaeans either broke away or were forced out of the larger Jewish
community under unpleasant circumstances.317 The antipathy that supposedly would
have been accompanied this event is thus thought to have inspired the hostility with
which the Jews are portrayed in Mandaean literature.
The problem with this theory is that there is no independently verifiable evidence
of a historical split between Mandaeism and Judaism, it relies primarily on the content of
Mandaean sources, which have often proved suspect with regard to the task of accurately
history or the chronology of past events. While this lack of reliable evidence does not
preclude the possibility that the antagonistic depiction of the Jews is a result of a
historical animosity between Mandaeism and Judaism it does temper the totality with
which this theory can be accepted as the explanation for Judaisms appearance in this
317

See chapters 14 & 15 of Buckley (2005).

177

role. In light of this deficiency it makes sense to look elsewhere for a theory that helps to
explain the presence of the anti-Jewish sentiment in Mandaean literature. Following the
approach already taken with regard to speculating about the shaping of Miriais image in
Mandaean literature the possibility of considering early Muslims thoughts about and
interactions with the Jews proves a useful lens through which the Mandaean material can
be contextualized.
In the course of formulating the image of the Jews found in the Miriai stories at
least five distinct themes emerge. The first is that Miriais Jewish roots seem to bestow
Mandaeism with a connection to the Abrahamic traditions. Secondly, Miriais
conversion to Mandaeism can be interpreted as a symbolic transfer of divine favor from
the Jews to the Mandaeans. Thirdly the relationship between the Mandaeans and Jews is
fraught with contention. The fourth theme is that a propensity for falsehood acts as a
defining characteristic of the Jews. Finally adherence to the false faith of Judaism
condemns its believers to eternal punishment. Each of these five themes represents an
aspect of either Mandaeisms relationship to or understanding of the nature of Judaism as
expressed in the Miriai stories. And each of these five themes also corresponds to a
similar depiction of or attitude towards Judaism found within the context of Islamic
tradition.

Children of Abraham
One of the more enigmatic and interesting ways that Judaism becomes a factor in
the stories about Miriai is in connection with her self-professed Jewish heritage.
Regarding her origins Miriai acknowledges,

178

Miriai am I, a daughter of the Kings of Babel318, a daughter of the mighty leaders

of Jerusalem. The Jews have given birth to me, the priests raised me. They
carried me in their jackets into the spoiled house, into the temple.319
Making a bold proclamation about her Jewish roots seems like an odd way for a
paradigm of Mandaeism to introduce herself, especially given the otherwise negative tone
of Jewish-Mandaean interactions in the rest of the story, but there is a way to interpret
this claim so that it benefits the overall perception and expression of Mandaeisms sense
of its religious identity. To understand how the acknowledgement of Miriais natal
Judaism is useful for Mandaeism consideration has to be given to the larger genealogical
implications of a possessing a Jewish birthright. If Miriai was born a Jew, particularly
one who belongs to the priestly caste of Judaism, then according to well accepted ancient
tradition she belongs to the line of Abraham. Her Jewish background gives Miriai a
direct link to the individual who all three of the major monotheistic religions of the
Ancient Near Eastern world identify as their founding ancestor. Since the connection to
Abraham is a biological consequence of the circumstance of her birth, and thus
irrevocable, this exalted genealogy follows Miriai when she converts to Mandaeism.
This implies that the personal history of Miriai provides Mandaeism with a claim the
status of an Abrahamic religion. Although Miriai may not be the founder of Mandaeism
she does play a foundational role in the profession of Mandaeism, which means the
characteristics she possesses, including her descent from Abraham, form the basis for
what it is to be Mandaean. Insofar as Miriai embodies the standard for being perceived

318

The reference to the Kings of Babel is indicative of a Mandaean tendency to conflate the Jewish
presence in Babylonia with the Jewish community in Jerusalem. Mandaean texts sometimes use Babylon
and Jerusalem interchangeably to refer to the traditional home and power base of Judaism.
319
JB 34:128, Lidzbarski, 126.

179

as a true Mandaean it may be argued that one of the traits that makes one a Mandaean is
an Abrahamic lineage meaning Mandaeism is, at least tangentially, defined as an
Abrahamic tradition. Miriais announcement of her Jewish origins therefore serves the
larger purpose of providing Mandaeism with a foothold within the religiously elite
communities of the children of Abraham.
Emphasizing a claim to Abrahamic roots also appears as a theme in Islamic
tradition. As seems to happen with Miriai in Mandaeism, Islam endeavors to establish a
genealogy that ties its premier exemplar of religious piety, Muhammad to the patriarch
Abraham. Tradition traces Muhammads specific tribal lineage backward through history
to Ismail, Abrahams firstborn son and the supposed ancestor of the Arabs, and
ultimately to Abraham himself.320

These genealogical claims to Abraham are then

augmented by the insistence that Muhammad is likewise the theological heir to the
tradition of Abraham. For example the Quran repeatedly explains that Muhammad is
part of a line of prophets that begins with Abraham and includes Ismail, Issac, Jacob,
Noah, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Jesus and others.321 Muhammads
place as the capstone on this list of individuals called to act as messengers on behalf of
the divine identifies him as both a genealogical and theological heir to Abraham. This
effectively doubles Islams link, through the agency of Muhammad, to this favored
patriarch and it ensure Muslims a place in the taxonomy of Abrahamic religions.
For Islam having a connection to Abraham is clearly a means for demonstrating
the religious legitimacy of Islamic belief. The Quran distinguishes Abraham from others
as a practitioner of true monotheism, Abraham was not a Jew nor a Christian; rather he

320
321

See Reuven Firestone, Journeys in Holy Lands (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990).
Surah 6:83-90; also see 3:84; 29:27; 33:7.

180

was true in faith and bowed his will to Allahs, (which is Islam), and he did not join gods
with Allah.322 Abrahams faith exemplifies the ideal expression of religious belief. It
surpasses the approaches offered by either Judaism or Christianity and represents the
modality of religion befitting a true, uncorrupt believer. Jane Dammen McAuliffe says
that Islam sees itself as a return to the faith of Abraham and that everything that was
exceptional about the monotheism of Abraham is realized again in Islam.323 Islams
ability to recapture the pure religious expression of Abraham proves that it is the
theological heir of the patriarch. By positing a link between Islam and Abraham,
especially a link that casts Islam as both the genealogical and theological inheritors of the
Abrahamic tradition, Muslims are asserting that all the positive qualities associated with
the religiosity of Abraham likewise apply to Islam. Islams connection to Abraham thus
becomes proof the veracity of Muslim belief. Although Mandaeism does not explicitly
praise the ideal of Abrahamic faith, when considered alongside a similar Islamic concern
for voicing a genealogical connection to Abraham, Mandaeism own apparent efforts to
highlight Miriais Abrahamic roots might also be read as an attempt to secure the
legitimacy conferred by being identified as an Abrahamic religion.
The notion that Muhammad is a direct descendant, either biologically or
theologically, of Abraham and that Islam is therefore part of Abrahamic religious
tradition offers a good general parallel to Miriais role in the Mandaean stories but there
is another equally intriguing parallel with Miriais stories that emerges in the context of
Islams connection to Abraham in the form of the story about Hagar, Ismails mother. In
addition to connecting Muhammad to Abraham through the tribal lineage of Ismail
322

Surah 3:67; also see 2:135; 3:95; 4:125; 6:79; 6:161; 16:120; 16:123.
Jane Dammen McAuliffe, The Quranic Context of Muslim Biblical Scholarship Islam and ChristiaMuslim Relations vol. 7, no. 2 (1996): 144.

323

181

Muslim tradition entwines Abraham and his immediately family in the seminal history of
Islam by crediting Hagar with being the first to find the Zamzam water well. Hagars the
discovery of the Zamzam constitutes a foundational event with in Islam because the way
to the water well not only describes the path that led Hagar to the Zamzam, it is also the
original definition of Sharia, the code by which devout Muslims conduct their lives.
The Islamicist Fazlur Rahman explains that Sharia in its religious usage, from the
earliest period, has meant the highway of good life, i.e. religious values, expressed
functionally and in concrete terms, to direct mans life.324 Sharia outlines the religious
beliefs and behaviors one has to adopt to be reckoned to be in accordance with the will of
god. According to the story about her Hagar, who is most prominently identified by her
relation to Abraham, totally submits herself to the divine and obeys his will, thus she
models Sharia and locates the Zamzam.
Compare this depiction of Hagar to the Mandaean image of Miriai, a pointedly
self identified descendent of Abraham, as a figure who embodies the essence of what it is
to be Mandaean. Miriais stories offer a step by step guideor path as it wereto the
Mandaeans so they can find their way to enacting the ideal expression of Mandaeism.
The way in which Miriai appears in her stories suggests that, like Hagar, she is modeling
something like Sharia, but in Miriais case it is a highway of good life for the
Mandaean people.

Transfer of religious authority

The second theme attached to images of the Jews in Miriais stories is that of
Miriais great importance to the Jews and more importantly the devastation that her
324

Rahman (2002),100.

182

conversion allegedly wrought within the Jewish community when she supposedly
abandoned them for the Mandaeans. It is apparent from her stories that Miriai was not
just any Jew but rather that she represented special force within Judaism. She was a
source of hope and inspiration for the rest of the Jews. And when she left the community
they did not lose just a one member among many, instead they lost something that had
been the core of the communitys religious existence. Without Miriai life among the
Jews would never again be what it once was, from the moment and the day when you
left the dough [challah] has been covered up.325 As the stories of Miriai reveal the
centrality her character once held within Judaism and the fate suffered by the Jews as a
result of her departure for Mandaeism it becomes clear that on a symbolic level the
conversion of Miriai has far reaching implications for Judaisms ability to continue to
assert a claim to religious authority.
Miriais importance to Judaism is first alluded to in her mothers pleas for her
renounce Mandaeism and return to her former life among the Jews. Like her daughter
Miriais mother notes the ties of kinship that had previously bound Miriai to Judaism,
you are my daughter and the daughter of all the priests. According to her mother it is
not just that Miriai has biological links to Judaism but that she was a focal point for the
whole community, All the priests and sons of the priests came and kissed your
handone thousand stand there [before Miriai] and two thousand sit there. They submit
themselves to you like eunuch slaves and they listen to your word in Jerusalem.326 The
Jews are so attached to Miriai that when she converts to Mandaeism her mother claims
entire Jewish population of Jerusalem becomes despondent about Miriais departure,

325
326

JB 35:139, Lidzbarski, 135.

JB 35:138-139, Lidzbarski, 134-135.

183

Behold, the brides in Judea weep, the women and men in Jerusalem. Their beloved gold
they have cast from themselves and they devote themselves to lamenting and mourning
you.327 The reactions Miriai elicits from the Jewish priests and laity creates an image of
her as an integral member of the Jewish community. The priests are shown to be reliant
on her as a source of religious knowledge and the general population seems incapable of
continuing with day to day lifeforsaking marriage and commercewithout her.
Miriais role within the Jewish community reaches beyond the general ties of kinship to
the all important realm of religious instruction and the everyday functionality of the
community.
The reason for the Jews intense attachment to Miriai is also revealed in her
mothers account of Miriais former life. The Jewish priests show Miriai such great
reverence and the Jewish people in general are so distraught by losing her because, as her
mother reports, Miriai once served as a fount of Jewish knowledge,
Do you not remember, Miriai, that the Torah lay on your lap? You opened it,
read from it and understood what stands in it. The outer keys lay in your hand
and the inner you kept in chains328For whomever you wished you opened the
door; for whomever you wished not, they had to turn around and retreat to their
place.329
According to this description Miriai was both a source of knowledge about the practice of
Judaism and the one who had the authority to regulate the dispersal of vital instruction in
the proper profession of a devout Jewish life. It suggests that prior to her conversion
Miriai did not just reside with the Jews she was the essence of Judaism.
327

JB 35:139, Lidzbarski, 135.

This may mean that she kept the inner keys hidden.
329
JB 35.138, Lidzbarski, 134-135.
328

184

There is a great deal of symbolism in the way that Miriais importance to the
Jewish community and the implications of her departure are portrayed in the Mandaean
stories. The comments Miriais mother makes about Miriais relationship to the Jewish
community give the impression that before her conversion Miriai was the vital force of
Judaism. Miriai had a deep understanding of Torah, she was sought out by the spiritual
leadership of Jewish society, she possessed knowledge and controlled its dispersal, and
her departure rendered all of Judaism purposeless with mourning. The way that Miriai
exists amongst and is perceived by the Jews evinces striking parallels to the
characteristics and functions assigned to the religion of Judaism itself. In her mothers
description of her life with the Jews Miriai becomes a symbol for the essence of Jewish
religion. The image of Miriai as a metaphor for the religious core of Judaism is
paradoxically supported by the allegory at the beginning of chapter thirty-five which
casts Miriai as the fundamental substance of Mandaeism. In both of these depictions the
character of Miriai takes on an abstract role in which she comes to embody the essence of
religion itself.
The perception of Miriai as symbolic of the true substance of Jewish religion has
important implications for the narrative intent of the Mandaean texts. If her mothers
description of her is accurate and Miriai was once the essence of Judaism then her
conversion is all the more significant because it marks the move of the religious
substance of Judaism to Mandaeism. When Miriai, as the religious essence of Judaism
rejected the Jews in favor of the Mandaeans all the religious traits associated with
Judaism transferred to Mandaeism. The descriptions of Miriai as a source or religious
knowledge and focus of devotion which is now lost to the Jewish people seems to be a

185

way for the Mandaeans to assert that any religious authority or efficacy that once may
have belonged to Judaism, has now passed to Mandaeism. The stories about the
conversion of Miriai can be read as an allegory for the idea that divine favor abandoned
Judaism for Mandaeism and consequently that Mandaeism supersedes Judaism as the
expression of true religion.
The metaphoric reading of Miriai as a symbolic representation of the essential
religious truth that forsake Judaism in favor of Mandaeism is mirrored in Islams
understanding of itself as the divinely sanctioned replacement for the formally favored
but now corrupt Jewish expression of the divine message. The Quran describes how
Islam has overtaken the mantle originally granted to the religions that preceded it.
Starting around the eighty-third verse Surah Six lists the many Jewish prophets, including
Jesus, who were entrusted with the divine message and then explains that the failure of
the Jews and then Christians to properly embrace the message of their prophets results in
the reassigning of the divine message to a new group of people,
These were the men to whom we gave the Book, and the authority, and the
prophethood: if these (their descendants) reject them, Behold! We shall entrust
their charge to a new people who do not reject them.
The new people alluded to here are of course the Muslims who under the tutelage of
Muhammad see themselves as possessing the uncorrupt articulation of the divine
message. Islam is, according to the situation spelled out here by the Quran, the new and
final home of the divine message. It has replaced all others as the ultimate articulation of
the will of god.

186

The idea that it is Judaism in particular that Islam sees itself as needing to replace
is suggested first of all by the fact that most of the prophets leading up to the warning that
a new people will be chosen to receive the divine message are readily identifiable as
Jewish prophets, which means the descendants of these men who are rejecting the Book,
and authority, and prophethood are primarily Jews. Judaisms failure to properly
embrace the divine message given to them is noted again just a few verses later when the
Quranic narrator chastises those possessing the Book of Moses (i.e. the Jews) for
dividing it into separate sheets for show, while concealing much (of its contents).330
The transgression here is that of corrupting, either by adding or subtracting material,
Allahs message. This is a charge that is leveled against the Jews throughout the Quran
and it is further proof that Islam regards Judaism as a prime example of a religion that
had divine favor but squandered it in such a way that the message had to be (re)entrusted
to the Muslims. 331
Muslims acknowledge that Judaism once possessed divine revelation but they
allowed, or worse yet actively caused it to become distorted and for this reason Judaism
ceased to be a reliable source for grasping the true will of the divine. This evaluation of
Judaism is similar to the stance suggested by the Mandaean stories which implies that the
essence of religion, as embodied in Miriai, once belonged the Jews but when Miriai
discovered the religious sensibilities of the Mandaeans were a truer expression of divine
will she left the Jews and the Jewish community found themselves mourning because
they now lacked the core of their religion. A similar description also applies to the
position in which Muslims cast themselves relative to Judaism. Just as the Mandaeans

330
331

Surah 6:91.
See Surahs 2:79; 3:78; 5:14; 5:41; 7:162.

187

benefit from Miriais presence in their communitythey gain from her a model of piety
and the priesthoodthe Muslims are able to claim the status of the new people to whom
the stewardship of the divine message was bestowed. Both the Mandaeans and Muslims
are intent on establishing that they are now the rightful heirs of the divine favor
previously associated with the Jews.

The Lying Jews

One of the prevailing images of Judaism to emerge from the Miriai stories is that
of the Jews as a conniving and vengeful people. For example upon learning of Miriais
conversion the entire Jewish community is said to have convened to formulate a plan to
undermine Miriais bond with her new found faith.
All the Jews gathered together, the teachers, the great and the little, they came
together and spoke of Miriai, She ran away from the priests, fell in love with
another man [Mandaeism] and they took hold of each others hands. They took
hold of each others hands, went forth and settled at the mouth of the Euphrates.
We will slay them and make Miriai scorned in Jerusalem. We will set up a stake
for the man who has ruined Miriai and led her away. There shall be no day in the
world when a stranger enters Jerusalem.332
There is a sense in the reaction of the Jews that they do not respond kindly to the
perceived infringement of another tradition upon that which they regard as their territory.
In fact the story suggests that Judaism can be expected to plot against the advancement of
another religion.

332

JB 35:136-137, Lidzbarski, 133-134.

188

It is unclear if this perception of the Jews hostile reaction to expansion of a

neighboring religious tradition reflects Mandaeisms actual experience with Judaism but
it does seem to have some basis in traditional Islamic accounts the history of the early
Muslims interactions with the Jews. According to Islamic sources, when Muhammad
and his followers were forced to leave Mecca they initially concluded a treaty with a
Jewish tribe in Medina, the city to which the first Muslims ultimately fled. However this
early alliance with the Jews appears short lived since Muslim sources report that the Jews
of Medina betrayed Muhammad and his followers by conspiring against Muhammad and
then siding with the Meccans when they mounted an attack against the Islamic
community in Medina.333 In Islamic literature, the Jews continued to inhabit this role of a
treacherous force intent on undermining the Muslim success throughout the latters
battles with the Meccans. In 627 C.E. (5 A.H.), according to traditional Muslim sources,
a Jewish tribe from the oasis town of Khaybar, along with a couple of Bedouin tribes
convinced the Meccans to raise an army of ten thousand with the goal of wrestling
control over Medina away from the Muslims. These events seem to establish a pattern of
a Jewish tendency to plot against the Muslims as well as an effort to derail Islams
attempts to secure a stronghold in the towns of the Arabian peninsula. Rahman
comments that in the aftermath of the Khaybar incident it was absolutely clear that the
Jews there could not be relied upon in any pact, suggesting that the prevailing image of
the Jews within the early Islamic world would have been one of a perennially
untrustworthy people intent on destroying any opportunity for Islams advancement.334

333
334

Rahman (2002), 22-23.

Rahman (2002), 23.

189

Although relations with the Jews eventually came to be portrayed as more

congenially it is easy to see how the reports of these initial interactions could have
produced an image of the Jews as a community that reacted with hostility towards the
possible growth of another tradition. By showing the Jews in the position of conspiring
with the Meccans and helping to plot the occupation of Medina Muslim accounts of the
actions of the Jews in the early history of Islams development create a precedent for
casting Judaism as a religion incapable of peaceful coexisting with other faiths. The Jews
are instead seen as prone to wreaking violence upon their neighbors in order to try to
undermine or punish them for their expansion. It is intriguing that the negative image of
the Jews that can be gleaned from early Muslim histories from is so consistent with the
conniving and vengeful conception of the Jews suggested by their behavior in the
Mandaean stories. Whether or not the Mandaeans had specific, individual problems with
the Jews it is possible that they could have based the characterization of the Jews in the
Miriai stories on notions of Judaism that emerged from elsewhere in the ancient Near
Eastern world.

Judaism and Falsehood

The Jews as the adversaries of Mandaeism is not the only image of Judaism found
in the Miriai stories. The narratives also make a point of depicting Judaism as the
archetypical false religion. Allegations of Judaisms falsehood start with the very
beginning of the story. In the opening speech of chapter thirty-four Miriai describes the
Jewish temple which she is forced to clean as a house without strength. There is nothing

190

in it for supporting the poor, nothing to receive the tormented souls.335 The impotency
of the temple is a metaphor for the supposed emptiness of Jewish doctrine. The temple
has no strength and can offer nothing because in the eyes of Miriai-Mandaeism there is
no truth or power in the Judaism on which it is built. For the Mandaeans, Judaism, like
all false religions, cannot provide anything except the empty shell of a temple. The idea
that there is no efficacy in Judaism is again expressed moments later when Miriai, having
broken free of the bondage of her parents, is drawn to the temple of the Mandaeans, not
the Jews. To the house of the people [Jews] I would not go, but my way bore me to the
temple [Mandaeans].336 For Miriai there is nothing compelling about Judaism. Up until
this moment her association with Judaism has been coerced. She was bound to the
Jewish temple, kept under lock and key but as soon as she was freed and given a choice
she felt no obligation to Judaism and abandoned it. Like its temple without strength, the
inability of Judaism to hold on to a free thinking Miriai is evidence of its religious
impotency. And an ineffective religion is the sign of a false religion.
Further proof of Judaisms falsehood comes in the form of Miriai calling the
Jewish priests worthless and announcing that they will all be buried in the Darkness
because of their beliefs.337 In Mandaean cosmology the Darkness is the source and home
of false beliefs. To be associated or relegated to the Darkness in any way is a de facto
identification of false religion. If the Jewish priests belong to the Darkness then Judaism
cannot be a true religion because only false teachings can come from the Darkness. The
text pointedly identifies the Jews as possessing all the bad (false) qualities which confirm
their status as Dark world beings. The first of these negative traits is their persecution of
335

JB 34:128, Lidzbarski, 126.

JB 34:128, Lidzbarski, 127.
337
JB 35:140, Lidzbarski, 136.
336

191

Miriai and the leveling of false accusations against her. To engage in lying speech is one
of the key characteristics of the Darkness. Descriptions of the Darkness and its
inhabitants regularly make reference to their propensity for false utterances. Ruha in
particular is understood to be a prodigious liar, her mind is malicious, full of lies. Such
is the mind of Ruha the liarthe imperfect and deficient onewho gave her instruction,
who gave the liar instruction.338 Not coincidently Mandaean literature also repeatedly
identifies Ruha has the mother of all false religions and especially Judaism. According to
Mandaean belief lying is the birthright of the Jewish religion.
Ironically, the stories maintain that the things about which the Jews are lying,
namely Miriais immoral behavior, are actually the other Dark qualities possessed by the
Jews themselves. Miriai tells the Jews that they have charged her with wantonness and
thieving but really the charges apply to them, you held me up as you are yourselves.339
It is the Jews, not Miriai, who are guilty of moral depravity. They are thieves and sexual
deviants and keeping with their Dark nature they try to pass these negative qualities on to
Miriai.
Judaisms entanglement with the Darkness and its subsequent identity as a false
religion are addressed again in the speech Miriai makes at the close of chapter thirty-five.
This speech, which was cited earlier as the message that proceeded Miriais ascent to the
Lightworld, also attests to the falsehood of Jewish belief. The speech reminds its
audience that those who do not heed the teaching of Mandaeism belong to the Jews and
that they will be destroyed for their embrace of false doctrines.340 Miriai specifically

338

GR 3, Lidzbarski, 80. The emphasis on falsehood as the defining characteristic of false religions
produced by the Darkness has definite resonance with Zoroastrianism.
339
JB 35:141, Lidzbarski, 137.
340
JB 35:142, Lidzbarski, 138.

192

identifies Judaism as the religion of false belief. It is the group to which anyone who
rejects the Truth (Mandaeism) is relegated. And lest there be any doubt the negativity of
the consignment of non-Mandaeans to Judaism Miriai goes on to identify the Jews as the
sons of the Maid by which she means children of Ruha.341 Anyone familiar with
Mandaean literature knows that the children of Ruha is another name for the false
religions of the world.342 In this way the Mandaean texts specifically typifies Judaism as
the haven for false belief, the paradigm of false religion.
The Mandaean critiques regarding the veracity of Judaism as a religion have
direct and indirect counterparts in Islams assessment of the Jews. Perhaps the most
striking of these comparisons is the one which can be made between Mandaeisms
contention that all those who reject Mandaean religion belong to Judaism and Islams
construal of the rivalry that exists between the hanf and the al-ahzab. According to
Islam the hanf are true practioners of monotheism, like Abraham and Muhammad. They
are the ones who perceive and profess an unadulterated version of the will of god.
Explaining the qualities of a hanf, Surah 16:120 reports. Abraham was indeed a model.
Devoutly obedient to Allah, true in faith, and he did not join gods with Allah.343 The
al-ahzab, by contrast, are the antithesis of the hanf. They reject the messenger sent to
them or corrupt the message when it is given to them. Rahman describes the al-ahzab as
sectarians, partisans, people who are divisive to the unity of religion and disruptive of
the line of prophetic succession and observes that Muhammad begins calling a portion
of the Jews by this name when he realizes that they are not embracing him or his message

341

JB 35:142, Lidzbarski, 138.

See GR 3; GR 5.
343
For other examples of the nature of a hanf see Surahs 2:135; 3:67; 3:95; 4:125; 6:79; 16:123.
342

193

as divinely sanctioned.344 Surah 45:16-17 chronicles the descent of the Jews in to the
divisive, destructive ranks of the al-ahzab,
We did in the past grant to the Children of Israel the Book, the power of
command and prophethood. We gave them, for sustenance, things good and pure,
and we favored them above the nations. And we granted them clear signs in
affairs (of religion). It was only after knowledge had been granted to them that
they fell into schisms, through insolent envy among themselves. Truly the Lord
will judge between them on the Day of Judgment as to those matters in which
they set up differences.
Rahman further explains that the problem with the Jews from a Muslim perspective is
that they did not maintain the uncorrupt monotheism of the hanf and as such they came
to represent a religious mentality that stood in opposition to the truthfulness of Islam.
This association of Judaism with the people who fail to embrace true revelation
and who are thus counted as opponents of Muhammad and Islam resonates with the
image of the Jews that Miriai outlines at the end of chapter thirty-five of the Book of
John. Miriai insists that those who do not give an ear to the voice of Mandaeism
belong to the Jews, to the slaves and all of the priests the sons of the Harlot [i.e.
Ruha].345 By comparison, those who give ear to the voice of the Life will be
included in the pure region [i.e. the Lightworld] and will bask twice over in the rays of
the Lifes treasury.346 The people who listen to the Life and find favor because of it are
of course the Mandaeans. Were Miriai to borrow the terminology of Islam there it seems
likely that she would label the Jews she is castigating in this speech al-ahzab in
344

Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Quran (Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980), 164.
JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138.
346
JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138.
345

194

comparison to hanf-like status of devout followers of Mandaeism. In both the

Mandaean and Islamic contexts, Judaism is pictured as the antithesis of true religion and
deemed an illegitimate expression of belief because it does not properly grasp the
authority of divine revelation entrusted to either Mandaeism or Islam.
Looking at the other critiques Mandaeism levels against Judaism in order to
malign the truthfulness of Jewish religiosity another interesting parallel with Islams
conception of the Jews appears. Both the Mandaean and Islamic depictions of Judaism
are especially replete with the charge that Judaism is overwhelmed by a propensity for
falsehood. For example within Mandaeism one of the defining traits of Judaism is that it
is a product of the Darkness. Miriai points out Jewish priests are the sons of the Harlot
by whom she means Ruha and since Ruha is a member of the realm of the Darkness it
follows that as her children the Jews are inexorably linked to the Darkness.347 The
Jewish birthright to the Darkness has significant implications for the perception of
Judaisms capacity, or lack thereof, for truthfulness because in the Mandaean cosmology
the Darkness is synonymous with falsehood. In fact Ruha, by virtue of her association of
the Darkness is nicknamed the liar,
Ruha, the striver, her sin is malicious, filled with lies. Thus is the sin of the liar
Ruha, who is totally filled with magic. She is totally filled with magic, filled with
hexes and false wisdomshe sits and does lying magic.348
The idea that the Jews have inherited the lying tendencies of their Darkness mother,
Ruha, is suggested by the stories about Miriai in the passage where Miriai berates the
Jews for their misrepresentation of the nature of her conversion to Mandaeism,
347

The idea that the Jews are children of Ruha is also expressed in GR 1:163-180, Lidzbarski, 24-27; GR
2.1:101-117, Lidzbarski, 42-44; GR 15.11, Lidzbarski, 336-344; and the Haran Gawaita.
348
GR 3:38, Lidzbarski, 80-81.

195

I am not a woman stripped for wantonness; and it is not that I have fallen in love
with a mango, go hence from me, you who have witnessed falsehoods and
lying against me. Against me you witnessed wantonness and thieving having held
me up as you are yourselves.349
According to Miriai the Jews are liars so committed to the perversion of the truth that
they have twisted reality to accuse Miriai of the crimes and moral depravity of which the
Jews themselves are actually guilty.
The message in the Mandaean stories, that the Jews are prone to deceit and
misrepresentation, seems to coalesce with Islamic impressions of the Jews as a people
easily drawn to and seduced by falsehood. Regarding the integrity of the Jews the Quran
notes,
Or be it among the Jewsmen who will listen to any liewill listen even to
others who have never so much as come to you [Allah]. They change the words
from their (right) times and places(They are fond of) listening to falsehood, of
devouring anything forbidden.350
In another Surah the Quran states that not only are the Jews attracted to deception, they
are themselves liars, You People of the Book, why do you clothe truth with falsehood,
and conceal the truth, while you have knowledge?351 The first accusation: the Jews have
an overriding affinity for falsehood, fits with the Mandaean understanding of Judaism as
a Darkness creation for which the conditions of its origins would naturally predispose it
to lying. The second charge: the Jews chose to lie even when confronted with the truth,
recalls the contention by the Mandaean stories that the Jewish priests attempted to
349

JB 35.141, Lidzbarski, 137.

Surah 5:41-42
351
Surah 3:71.
350

196

misrepresent the nature of Miriais conversion rather than acknowledge it as the awaken
to a higher level of religious understanding that it actually offered. Faced with the
opportunity to be exposed to the religious truth offered by Mandaeism, vis--vis Miriai,
the Jews elected to pervert the truth. This seems to be the same response that Judaism,
according to Islam, had to their task of preserving their knowledge of the divine will:
rather than embrace it they twisted and corrupted the text of the Book. As far as either
the Mandaeans or Muslims are concerned Judaism possesses a propensity for falsehood
that seriously impairs its ability to grasp the legitimate expression of true religion.

Jews as Deserving of Punishment

The notion that Judaism is closely associated with deceit lends itself to the
assertion that because of their beliefs and behaviors the Jews deserve divine punishment.
Like the accusations of falsehood, the prediction of impending condemnation for
practitioners of Judaism is another theme found in both Mandaeism and Islam. Within
the Mandaean context chapter thirty-five of the Book of John is filled with statements that
call woe upon the Jews, warning them of the eventual dire consequences of their beliefs
and behavior. These moments foreshadow the actual punishment exacted on the Jews
near the end of the Miriai story. After Miriai chastises the Jewish priests for accusing her
of the immorality of which they themselves are guilty a Lightworld being appears in the
form of an eagle and attacks the Jews in retribution for their actions.
He flew upon the Jews, plunged at them with his wings, tied them up and sank
them to the waters bottom, deeper than the stinking mud. He sank them deeper
than the burning (water) that is within the murky water. He destroyed the Temple

197

and set fire to Jerusalem. He brought downfall upon them and killed the
followers in Jerusalem.352
This is the fulfillment of the woe promised to the Jews in the allegory and again by Miriai
when her mother begs her to return to Judaism, as well as after the fact in her final
speech.353 The severity of the punishment serves as a testament to the degree of
retribution the Mandaeans believe is owed to the Jews. It identifies the Jews as truly
worthy of punishment.
The reprisal wrought by the Lightworld being is catastrophic, with a sense of
redundant excess. He pummels, binds and drowns the Jews and then ruins the Temple,
burns Jerusalem and murders the Jews. The double destruction of Judaism indicates that
the Mandaeism generally regard the Jews as especially worthy of punishment, however
the specific forms the attack take provide even greater insight into exactly how the
Mandaeans wish to portray Judaism. With regard to what they reveal about Mandaean
perceptions of Judaism the violent actions of the Lightworld being can be divided in to
two themes. The first part of the attack is concerned with once again highlighting
Judaisms Darkness connections. The deep, burning, murky waters in to which the
Lightworld being sends the Jews are synonymous the waters of the Darkness. References
to the turbid, fiery waters of the Darkness appear throughout Mandaean literature. For
example in GR 3 Manda d Hiia reports,
I beheld the door of the Darkness
And the streams of the world Siniawis, as they are.
I beheld the black water within in it,

352
353

JB 35:141, Lidzbarski, 137.

JB 35:135,140 & 142, Lidzbarski, 132, 137 & 138.

198

Which rose up, boiled, and bubbled.

Whoever enters it dies,
And whoever beholds it is scorched.354
The black waters of the Darkness are also mentioned in stories about Ptahils creation
of humanity and in descriptions of the cosmogony in the Canonical Prayerbook.355 The
murky, burning waters that swallow the Jews in Miriais story are yet another expression
of the waters of the Darkness. The drowning of the Jews by the Lightworld being is
really a banishment of them to the Darkness. It is a reference to the idea that Judaism is a
false religion whose origins and affiliation belong to the Darkness.
The second part of the punishment represents an interesting twist on prevailing
interpretations of the second destruction of the Temple as a rebuke of Judaism by the
divine. The Lightworld beings attack on the temple, fire in Jerusalem and killing of the
Jews has obvious parallels with the historical destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. It
seems likely that the Mandaean narrative is alluding to this event. But what makes the
Mandaean account of the downfall of the Jews in Jerusalem interesting is that they credit
a Lightworld being with causing it.356 The Mandaean version co-opts the notion that the
divine causes bad things to happen to the Jews in order to punish them for lapses in their
piety and subtly but significantly alters it so that the divine brings bad things upon the
Jews because theirs is a bad (Dark) religion. This keeps the general sense of the
traditional interpretation of the destruction of the Temple but tailors it to fit Mandaean

354

GR 3:74, Lidzbarski, 71. Also see GR 3.72 which mentions black waters which seethe and boil.
GR 5:1.168-170, Lidzbarski, 174-175; GR 15.13, Lidzbarski, 348-353, and CP 1.
356
In other Mandaean texts Anu Uthra and/or Hibil Ziwa lay waste to the Jews and Jerusalem in a similar
fashion. See GR 15.11 and Drower HG, 9.
355

199

purposes. It turns the divinely sanctioned punishment of Judaism in to proof of the falsity
of their religion.
As with the Mandaean stories about Miriai the Quran repeatedly warns that the
erroneous religious doctrines of the Jews will condemn them to an eternity of suffering.
An abbreviated history of Judaism given in Surah 17:1-10 emphasizes that the behavior
of the Jews tends to merit divine retribution. The Quranic narrative claims that
transgressions by the Jews and the dire consequences they reap were specifically
predicted by the divine,
And we gave (clear) warning to the Children of Israel in the Book, that twice
would they do mischief on the earth and be elated with mighty arrogance and
twice would they be punished!357
After detailing the punishment the Jews earned because of their failures the Quran warns
the Jews that should they continue in their misguided ways further torment awaits them,
It may be that your Lord may (yet) show mercy to you, but it you revert (to your
sins) we shall revert (to our punishments). And we have made hell a prison for
those who reject (all faith).358
This combination of a reminder of penalties exacted in the past and a caution against the
possibility of suffering to come that has and can be earned through the rejection of the
true expression of the divine message mirrors the closing sequence of Miriais story in
which the insolence of the Jews is blamed for the Lightworld beings decision to destroy
the Temple and Miriai warns that anyone ignoring the message of Mandaeism will be

357
358

Surah 17:4.
Surah 17:8.

200

wiped out.359 Muslim tradition regarding the fate of the Jews also echoes the Mandaean
in the sense that the fiery demise of the Jews that the Lightworld being paradoxically
burns in the murky waters in the Mandaean narrative is also assigned to defiant Jews in
Surah 11:17 of the Quran, but those of the sects that reject it [the Book of Moses]the
fire will be their punishment. While not an exact reproductions of one another the
Mandaean descriptions of punishment awaiting the Jews and the descriptions circulating
within Islamic tradition do express a shared sense that as a faith Judaism condemned
itself to divine, usually fiery, retribution.

Making Sense of Mandaean and Muslim Parallels Concerning the Jews

Looking back over the Mandaean depictions of Miriai and the Jews it can be
concluded that there are numerous and seemingly significant parallels between the
Mandaean and Islamic material. In terms of her elite Jewish lineage, her early devotion
to the Temple and interaction with the Jewish priests, as well as the misguided charges of
sexual impropriety leveled against her, the narrative construction of Miriais character
mirror details associated with the life of Miriam in the literature of Islam. On a more
abstract level the stories of both women are utilized to address theological issues ranging
from the paradigmatic expression of absolute piety, divine favor, religious leadership,
prophetic messengership, and the condemnation of other religions. The shared
biographical and theological functionality of Miriai and Miriam alludes to a possible
convergence or at least noteworthy overlap between Mandaean and Muslim tradition.
Similarly the description of the Judaism as a religion worthy of punishment; overcome
359

JB 35.142, Lidzbarski, 138.

201

and undermined by a tendency for falsehood; prone to violent and treacherous behavior;
squandering of divine election; but still a conduit to the coveted Abrahamic genealogy;
expressed by the Mandaeans and Muslims alike also gives the impression of
corresponding thought.
The existence of these parallels is worth recognizing because they point to and
justify Islam as a point of reference for interpreting the Mandaean material. One of the
important potential implications suggested by the similarities between Miriai and Miriam
or the Mandaean and Muslim treatment of the Jews is that it invites speculation that
Islam, not Judaism or Christianity is the primary external audience of the Mandaean
stories. Whatever else Mandaean literature is trying to accomplish internally through the
character of Miriai, the particular construction of her character along with the image of
the Jews that emerges from her stories have significant aspects to them that seem to be
oriented towards Islamic sensibilities. I mean by this, that Miriai and the Jews are
presented in a way that places them in dialogue with similar characters and conversation s
that are taking place within the developing theology of Islam. It is possible that Muslims
encountering the Mandaean stories about Miriai would have sensed an affinity between
the tenor of the Mandaean works and their own traditions and thus been rendered more
amenable to the notion that Mandaeism was a kindred faith. In other words, it seems to
me that in recognizing the parallels apparent in the Mandaean and Muslim material we
reveal a Mandaean effort to articulate their internal theological struggles and
development in a language or context that resonates with Islam.
Taking this idea further, if it is in fact the case that the Miriai stories reflect
Mandaean ideas cast in an Islamically tinged framework then it is also possible to

202

suppose that the Mandaeans may have shared parts of their imagery with Islam. The use
of imagery with equivalences in Muslim sources positions Mandaeism to present itself as
a religion comparable to Islam. In the context of the Miriai stories Mandaeism shows
itself to be a religion that knows the same characters, shares the same stories and
struggles with the same theological concerns as Islam. Giving Mandaeism the
appearance of a religion that is operating within the same sphere as Islam would have
been especially useful for the Mandaeans as they interacted with Muslims because it
would have created the impression that Mandaeism was a faith that deserved the respect
and acceptance of its Muslim neighbors. Read from this perspective it is possible to
interpret one of the purposes of the Miriai stories to be that of establishing a means for
Mandaeism to demonstrate its religious legitimacy to Islam.
Finally while it seems more likely that any cross Mandaean-Muslim influence in
the Miriai stories flowed from Islam into the Mandaean material the directionality of
influence is rarely unilateral. Consequently the parallels between Mandaeism and Islam
found in the context of the Miriai stories also suggest the possibility that Mandaeism may
have contributed something to the early formation of Islam. Perhaps Mandaeism was one
of multiple channels through which Islamic notions of Miriam or the Jews developed.
Or maybe the theological questions being entertained by Mandaeism helped define some
of the religious issues that became central to Islam. More research needs to be done on
the Islamic treatment of this material in relation to Mandaeism before anything definitive
could be said about the actuality or extent of the Mandaeans influence on the Muslims
but the initial recognition of Mandaean-Muslim parallels sets the stage for a potential
revelatory new line of inquiry in the field of early Islamic studies.

203

With its ability to expand the scholarly horizons of both Mandaean and Islamic
studies attention to Islam as a factor in the efforts to interpret Miriai and her stories
proves a valuable addition to the inquiries about the significance of her character to
achieving an understanding of the nature of Mandaean religion. Thinking about Miriai in
the context of Islam illuminates her contributions to the formation of Mandaeism while
also raising important new questions about the reciprocity and implications of
Mandaeisms and Islams relationship with one another. This is then a compelling
example of the benefit that comes from including Islam in the pursuit of Mandaean
studies.

204

Chapter 6
Yahia: A Mandaean Prophet

The place of John the Baptist, or Yahia as he is frequently called in Mandaean

literature, in Mandaeism has long been a focal point of scholarly interest in the religious
identity of the Mandaeans. Beginning with the travel diary of a Dominican monk,
Ricoldo Pennini, which dates to early part of the fourteenth century Yahia served as a
defining point of reference on account of which the Mandaeans came to be described as
followers of John the Baptist.360 About a century and a half later Portuguese Jesuits
working as missionaries in the Middle East made note of the Mandaeans, who owing to
their association with Yahia, the Jesuits labeled Saint John Christians.361 Although
there were persistent questions about the legitimacy and accuracy of the Christianity
supposedly practiced by the Mandaeans western missionaries continued to identify them
as at least a nominally Christian sect descended from John the Baptist.362 Consequently
when academics began to take interest in the Mandaeans in the late eighteenth century
they initially concentrated on what the Mandaeans, by virtue of their relationship to John
the Baptist, might reveal about the origins Christianity.363 However when it became
apparent that ostensibly Christian aspects of Mandaeism, including passages about John
the Baptist, postdated the composition of the New Testament scholars shifted their focus

360

Lupieri, 63-65.
Lupieri observes that cultural misunderstandings caused the Jesuits to believe that the John of Mandaean
tradition was John the Evangelist rather than John the Baptist but that the name persisted nonetheless, 6974.
362
It should be noted that the idea that the Mandaeans were descended from John originated entirely from
the missionaries and not from the Mandaeans themselves.
363
See Richard Reitzenstein, Das mandische Buch des Herrn der Grosse und die Evangelienberlieferung
(Heidelberg: Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1919).
361

205

to asking how and why John the Baptist, who is otherwise so intimately and exclusively
connected to the tradition of Christianitya tradition which the Mandaeans regard as
antithetical to their ownassumed such a prominent role in Mandaean religion?364
It is to these still unanswered questions about Yahias prominence and function
within Mandaeism that this study now turns. Like Miriai who is assumed to be rooted in
Christianity, the Mandaean traditions about Yahia appear to owe something to a general
outline of Christian depictions of John the Baptist, at least in the sense that the Mandaean
Yahia and the Christian John the Baptist seem to be divergent iterations of the same
figure. However, in spite of that which seems to be a connection between Mandaeism
and Christianity I will argue that the means for understanding Yahia and the importance
of his character to Mandaeism lies not with an investigation of his ties to Christianity but
rather with the overtures that the Mandaean presentation of Yahia makes to Islam. A
more illuminating explanation for Yahia, his appearance, and contribution to Mandaean
religion truly begins to take shape when the Mandaean narratives about him are placed in
context with Islamic theology and especially the Islamic concept of prophethood. An
analysis of Yahia which takes into consideration the qualities Islam associates with the
role of a prophet reveals significant affinities between Yahia and Islamic notions of
prophethood, especially the highest order of prophets the rusul. Moreover, the
connection between Yahia and the Islamic categorization of prophets includes a
particular set of characteristics that appear to emphasis Yahias similarity not just to
prophets in general but rather to Muhammad, the Islamic rasl. Yahias roots may
belong partially with John the Baptist as he is known in Christianity but the development

364

For a more detailed overview of Occidental references to and scholarship on the Mandaeans as Saint
John Christians and their relationship to John the Baptist see Lupieri, 61-126.

206

of his character in Mandaean literature assumes qualities that point to the mantle of
prophethood as it is eventually defined by Islam. This gives Yahia claim to the title of
Mandaean rasl and in doing so allows Mandaeism to assert a religious identity that
conforms to Islamic standards.

Making the connection between Yahia and Islam

Although scholars from outside the Mandaean tradition have long struggled to
understand the place of Yahia in Mandaean religion, Mandaeism itself seems to have a
clear notion of Yahias role. He is a prophet, their prophet, a messenger to the Mandaean
people. The Haran Gawaita explains that Yahia-Yuhana365 is a prophet of the great
Father of Glory and a prophet of Kuta, the apostle.366 Additional attestations to the
prophethood of Yahia appear in the Book of John where Yahia is repeated called a
prophet come to Jerusalem. Elsewhere in the same text Yahia himself confirms his
status as a prophet of Mandaeism by rhetorically inquiring after the (im)possibility of the
of existence of another being who can claim to be his prophetic equivalent, Where is a
prophet equal to me? Who makes proclamations equal to my proclamations, and who
does discourse with my wondrous voice?367 The effect of these questions is to suggest
that Yahias ability to fulfill the duties of prophethood is without rival. An assertion such
as this gives the clear impression that Yahia is to be regarded as the preeminent prophet
of the Mandaean tradition.

365

The text combines both the Arabic, Yahia, and Semitic, Yuhana, forms of the name. In a similar fashion
many of the chapters about Yahia in the JB open with the formula Yahia proclaims in the nights, Yuhana
on the nights evenings, Yahia proclaims in the nights but then proceed to use only the name Yahia
throughout the body of the text.
366
Drower HG, 5.
367
JB 21, Lidzbarski, 85-87.

207

Recognition of the centrality of prophecy to the Mandaean construction of

Yahias character is an essential first step in the process of understanding the function
played by Yahias appearance in Mandaean literature. Prophecy is a common element of
religions in the ancient near East. Judaism and by extension Christianity both have
strong prophetic traditions, as does Zoroastrianism and many of the indigenous religious
tradition of Babylonian. Given this widespread belief in prophets the question naturally
arises, why try to interpret Yahia in comparison to Islamic notions of prophecy rather
than that of other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity? The answer to this
question and the reason for selecting the Islamic centered approached derives from two
factors: one which comes from within Mandaeism, the other from Islam, and when taken
together they make a compelling argument for regarding the Mandaean depictions of
Yahia as closely related to Muslim notions of prophecy. The first factor has to do with
the timing of Yahias ascendancy as a focal figure within Mandaean religion. The other
factor is a consideration of the relative importance of defining the nature of prophethood
as a theological concern in Islam compared to its place in either Judaism or Christianity.
A detailed examination of these two factors makes it evident that the Islamic conception
of prophethood is the most appropriate and most productive model to apply to the
analysis of Yahia.

Factor One: Dating Yahia and his sources to the Islamic Period
Yahia holds a place of particular prominence in certain works of Mandaean
literature. It is a place that he has long held but upon close inspection of Mandaean
literature it appears that it is not a place he has always held. Yahia and the traditions

208

surrounding him apparently do not reach back to the earliest strata of Mandaeism. They
seem to be a later development, an accretion upon the already formed the cosmology of
Mandaean belief. The realization that the integration of Yahia into Mandaeism
represents a secondary development within the corpus of Mandaean literature holds
special significance for the question of Yahias possible association with Muslim notions
of prophethood because there is compelling evidence that suggests Yahias rise to a
position of importance in Mandaean religion actually corresponds to the period of Islams
initial expansion and that the Mandaean focus on Yahia is influenced by the presence of
Muslims in the territory the Mandaeans called home.
One argument strongly in favor a causal connection between the development of
Mandaean interest in Yahia and the spread of Islam is the fact that most of the Mandaean
texts which feature Yahia prominently appear to have been composed during the Islamic
period. A good example of this is the Book of John or Draia d-Iahia, as it is known in
Mandaic. This book is named for Yahia and sixteen of its chapters are devoted to him.
Buckley has undertaken a study of the colophons attached to seven different codices of
the Book of John, which has allowed her to trace the chain of transmission of this text to
what she believes is the source of its origins.368 All seven of the Book of John colophons
investigated by Buckley lead back to the same individual, Sku (or Ska) Hiia, who
Buckley contends is datable to the seventh century C.E.369 The consistent return to Sku
Hiia as the earliest scribe connected to the Book of John provides good, if not conclusive,
reason to believe that the earliest versions of the Book of John were composed sometime

368

For a description of the seven texts studied by Buckley see A Re-investigation of the Book of John,
ARAM vol. 16, no.1 (2004).
369
Buckley (2004), 21.

209

during the late 700s to the early 800s C.E. This timeframe correlates with the initial
period of the initial expansion of Islam.
Adding further weight to the theory that the composition of the Book of John
parallels the spread of Islam is the intermingling of allusions to the Muslim conquest with
the stories about Yahia. In one particularly notable instance Mandaean familiarity with
the events of Islamic conquest comes directly from Yahia himself. In chapter twenty-two
Yahia tells his disciples,
When all the priests are murdered and no more exist, [and] the Israelites are
murdered, then Muhammad, the Arab, will be born, the son of a slave of
Abdallah. He called out to the world; he disposed of all the temples, and he
erected a great numbers of mosques in the world.370
Because Mandaean tradition maintains that Yahia lived well before the birth of
Muhammad, the text presents these events as predictions about the future, a prophesy put
in the mouth of Yahia but it is clear from the description he gives, including a detailed
account of how the Muslims wash their bodies and hair, and then dye their beards with
henna in preparation for daily prayers that these are practices with which the Mandaeans
have first-hand familiarity and not just predictions about future events,
They [the Muslims] make deceitfulness their way and they make their weight
great. Several of them allow their head to be shaven, several wash their hair, and
others color their beards with henna. Several color their beards with
henna and

370
371

then they go and pray in their mosques. 371

JB 22.84-85, Lidzbarski, 87-88.

JB 22.85-86, Lidzbarski, 88-89

210

Yahias foresight is really the hindsight of Mandaeisms experience with Islams

expansion and having been exposed to Muslim customs. The text could not include this
knowledge of Islams rise to power or its traditions unless the Mandaean already had
some knowledge of Islam. This means that this portion of the Book of John was
necessarily composed sometime after the initial spread of Islam. Both in terms of content
and the compositional history of its colophons the Book of John seems to date to the
Islamic period.
The same post-Islamic timeframe also appears to apply to the Haran Gawaita,
another piece of Mandaean literature that features Yahia. Unfortunately an investigation
of the colophonic history of Haran Gawaita does not yet exist, but there is sufficient
evidence within the text to identify it as a work that was compiled in the wake of the
Muslim conquest.372 The Haran Gawaita purports to be a history of the Mandaean
people, which starts with an undateable flight from Jerusalem and progresses to the time
of Islamic rule, a time that the text warns heralds the coming apocalypse. Scholars now
consider much of the early history recorded in the Haran Gawaita to be fictional or at
least highly legendary elaborations of prehistoric events but when the narrative
transitions to the period immediately before and after the coming of Islam the text begins
to display a more plausible degree of historical accuracy. For example, the Haran
Gawaita claims the Sasanian Dynasty lasted approximately 360 years. This figure is
roughly equivalent to the actual duration of the reign of the Sasanians (circa 224-651).373

372

Some of the material in the HG is probably older than the Muslim conquest but creation of the text in its
current form belongs to a period after Mandaean exposure to Islam.
373
The HG says that the Sasanians ruled for 360 years, the Muslim historian Tabar records the Sasanian
reign as lasting from 226-636 C.E., a total of 410 years. This is a 50 year difference but allowing for the
possibility of calendrical variations and the Mandaean affinity for the number 360, a difference of 50 years
is not significant.

211

The Haran Gawaita also contains a seemingly historically accurate account of the
Sasanians ouster by Muslim forces,
[A]nd then the Son of Slaughter, the Arab, [Muhammad] set up as king, went
forth and took a people to himself and performed circumcisionthen he took the
sword and put to the sword from the city of Damascus unto Bit Dubar, which is
called Bdin. He governed it all and ruled over the lord of the hill-country of the
Persians who are called Hardbaeans [Sasanians] and took away sovereignty from
them.374
The inclusion of this kind of information about the period of Sasanian rule and the
circumstances of the Sasanians demise indicates that the Haran Gawaita was mostly
likely composed after the conclusion of these events and is therefore a product of the
early period of Islamic expansion.
Further evidence of Islams impact on the content of the Haran Gawaita can be
discerned from a disquisition on Arab Law found in the midst of the text. The Haran
Gawaita explains that the time of Muhammad is also the age of Arab Law, and that in the
scheme of world history Muhammad and his laws have been accorded a period of
domination that they must be allowed to fulfill.375 With that said the text then turns its
attention to outlining the nature of Arab law, noting that it has roots in both the Light and
the Darkness,
the Law is constituted of four mysteries; part therein is (of) the Light and part
therein wholly Root of Darknessto it [the Law] was imparted a kind of order. It
formed from four natural humours: the Root of Darkness is composed of and

374
375

Drower HG, 15.

Drower HG, 18.

212

arrayed in blood, gall, (wind), and mucus. (But) the habiliments of the soul are
formed of mystery, light and the Jordan; the soul is formed by proper observance
of the three mysteries, by purification of the four natural humours is the souls
vestment formed.376
The text is obtuse and a bit confusing but it seems to be suggesting that Arab law is a
product of the four natural humours, which are rooted in Darkness but can also be
purified through the Light for positive use. In other words Arab law has potentially good
applications but it is essentially linked to the Darkness. The ambivalence here may
reflect a Mandaean attempt to explain Arab law in a way that acknowledges certain
parallels to Mandaean practice while still undermining the ultimate authority Arab law by
placing its particular origins within the realm of Darkness, i.e. the home of all false
religions. The Mandaean text appears to be engaged in the delicate task of attempting to
repudiate Islamic theology by calling into question the provenance of Arab law and
challenging the legitimacy of the jurisprudence which became central to Muslim belief
without discrediting the notion of theodicy that would otherwise appeal to Mandaean
religious sensibilities. The existence of an anti-Islamic polemic such as this in the Haran
Gawaita confirms the notion that the text was composed at a time when Mandaeism was
striving to come to terms with the circumstances and theological challenges posed by the
establishment of Islams political and religious dominance. The inclusion of this kind of
theological wrangling reaffirms the idea that the Haran Gawaita was composed at a time
when Islam had become an influential factor in the religious life and imagination of the
Mandaeans.

376

Drower HG, 18-19.

213

The belief that Mandaean literature about Yahia belongs to the Islamic era is also
supported by the analysis of certain key portions of the Ginza. The most revered book
within Mandaean literature, parts of the Ginza are believed to date to the earliest strata of
Mandaeism. Based on her study of colophons, Buckley traces some of the oldest portions
of the Ginza to a scribe known as Zazai of Gawazata, whom she dates to the year 270
C.E.377 But the Ginza is a composite text, portions of which may belong to the third
century C.E. while others are quite likely the product of a much later date. As Buckley
herself notes the Ginza may not have reached its final, collected form until the midseventh century C.E.378 Interestingly one of the chapters in the Ginza that tends to
support the dating of the final composition of the entire text to a time roughly
contemporaneous with the early stages of the expansion of Islam is also a chapter which
takes Yahia as its primary subject matter. This chapter, which appears as Book Seven of
the Right Ginza, claims to be an account of the wisdom and instructions of Yahia, son of
Zakhria.379 Based on a linguistic analysis of this chapter, and especially the use of the
Arabic form, Yahia (rather than the Aramaic Yuhana), Lidzbarski concludes that Book
Seven was first written down during Islamic times.380 Although Lidzbarski never directly
addresses the issue his introductory observations about the use of the Arabic Yahia seems
to hint at the notion that exposure to Islam had an impact on the composition of Book
Seven as well as the nature of Yahias appearance therein. If this is true then Book Seven

377

Buckley (2005), 157, this date is applicable to the Left Ginza.

Buckley (2002), 10.
379
GR 7, Lidzbarski, 213.
380
GR 7, Lidzbarski, 213, despite this conclusion Lidzbarski does try to leave open the possibility that use
of Yahia was a later insertion in the place of the Aramaic Yuhana. I think we need to be critical of
Lidzbarskis attempt to assign primacy to the Aramaic form as it may be derived from a preconceived bias
towards the belief that the Mandaeans originate from Palestinian Jews.
378

214

of the Ginza, like the Haran Gawaita and chapters 18-32 in the Book of John, is another
instance of a text featuring Yahia that has its roots in the Islamic period.
Yahia does appear in a few other pieces of Mandaean literature381 but his role in
these texts, especially those that are thought to date to the earlier strata of Mandaean
literature is relatively limited. In these other texts Yahia is usually only mentioned in
passing. His brief appearances in these texts usually amount to little more than the
inclusion of his name among a list of other Mandaean figures and do not significantly
contribute to the Mandaean understanding of the actual nature or character of Yahia. It
is only in Book Seven of the Right Ginza, the Haran Gawaita, and certain chapters from
the Book of John that Yahia is a focal character and it is these works that provide the
basis for much of what is said and known about Yahia in Mandaeism. That the texts
featuring Yahia all appear to have been composed after the initial spread of Islam lends
credence to the notion that the prominence of Yahia in Mandaeism corresponds to the
Mandaeans initial exposure to Islam.
The literary evidence suggesting that the timing of Yahias rise to prominence
may be connected to the growing influence of Islam finds additional support Lupieris
assertion that devotion to Yahia was not always part of the Mandaean piety. Lupieri
presents a list of factors which posit Yahia as a secondary insertion into the religious
world of Mandaeism. Foremost among the characteristics that Lupieri cites as proof of
Yahias late entry into Mandaean theology is the lack of celestial hypostasis for Yahia.
Traditionally, Mandaean literature pairs accounts of human figures that are important to

381

Most notably in GR 5.4 where the use of the name Yuhana instead of Yahia suggests the possibility of a
lack of Islamic influence, but no definitive evidence exists for a precise dating of this text so it cannot be
summarily precluded from post-Islamic composition and as will be argued later in the chapter the content
of GR 5.4 has intriguing parallels with Islamic traditions about Muhammad.

215

Mandaeism with stories about their spiritual counterparts. No such pairing is recorded
for Yahia and, according to Lupieri, the absence of a heavenly double significantly
differentiates Yahia from other seminal Mandaean characters such as Adam and Sitil with
whom he otherwise enjoys comparable devotional status.382 The implication in Lupieris
observation about Yahias lack of a spiritual counterpart is that Mandaean literature does
not include a mention of a heavenly double for Yahia because the traditions regarding
Yahia do not belong to the foundational portion of Mandaean theology where key notions
about cosmology and anthropology were formulated. Lupieri thinks that the tendency to
pair notable human figures with celestial counterparts (or visa-versa) which was a
characteristic of early articulations of the Mandaean cosmology does not occur with
respect to Yahia because initially he was not important enough to merit such a pairing
and later when he did rise to the type of prominence that might suggest the need for a
Lightworld duplicate the circumstances surrounding his ascent were such that his
character development was governed by forces other than the traditional constructs of
Mandaean cosmology. Lupieri appears to be arguing that if Yahia were part of the
original strata of Mandaean theology he would also have a celestial hypostasis and the
fact that he does not shows that Yahia and his importance to the devotional life of the
Mandaeans was a later addition to Mandaeism.
Following along with the theme of Yahias absence from the essential elements of
Mandaean religion Lupieri also notes that Yahia is not to be found in much of the wide
range of material that shapes the basics of Mandaean belief. As might be deduced from
Lupieris speculation about Yahias disconnection with the creation of the Mandaean
worldview, Yahia does not appear in any of theogonic, cosmogonic, or anthropogonic
382

Lupieri, 162.

216

narratives in Mandaean literature. Nor does he, according to Lupieri, appear in specific
liturgical texts or in hymns.383 Yahia is also absent from all but one of the many and
theologically significant esoteric texts known to Mandaeism and Lupieri observes that in
the one esoteric text, the Alf Trisar uialia, in which Yahia does appear the references
provide no substantial information about Yahia, himself.384 Finally Lupieri points out
that even the Mandaean apocalyptic texts fail to mention Yahia.385 Lupieri only
highlights the omission of Yahia from all this literature. He does not comment on what it
may mean but implicit in Lupieris observations is the notion that widespread absence of
Yahia from the texts that are at the heart of Mandaean theology is a sign that Yahia did
not originally play a major role in Mandaean theology and that his rise to prominence
occurred as part of a later (re)articulation of Mandaean belief.
Lupieris final reason for casting the focus on Yahia as a secondary development
in Mandaeism derives from a careful evaluation of Yahias role within the Mandaean
practice of baptism. Generally considered the primary ritual of Mandaeism, baptism is a
central part of Mandaean religiosity.386 For this reason it speaks well to the religious
importance of Yahia that he is associated with the practice of baptism, but it is even more
significant for the apprehension of the status of his character to note that Mandaeism
never positions Yahia as the founder of Mandaean baptism rituals. Baptism existed as a
Mandaean practice prior to Yahia and to the extent that he engages with it by assuming
the role of baptizer he is doing nothing that is not expected of all Mandaean priests. In
383

Lupieri, 162.
The text in which Yahia appears is the Alf Trisar uialia (The Thousand and Twelve Questions) where
he is mentioned twice, first in Book 1.1.29 (Drower 120) as Yahia son of Zakria an instructor of 360
priests and then again in Book 1.2.236 (Drower 170-72) on a list of names along with his wife Anhar as
one pair among many that teach about companionship.
385
Lupieri, 162.
386
See Buckley (2002), 80-86.
384

217

other words the literature may recognize Yahia as an exceptionally talented baptizer but
his role as baptizer is not exceptional in and of itself. This is an important distinction
because Lupieri uses Yahias relatively mundane connection to baptism to argue that
Yahia does not have special claim to this foundational aspect of Mandaeism either.387
For Lupieri, Yahias status as a practitioner of baptism but not the source of the ritual is
yet further proof that Yahia does not belong to the original strata of Mandaean theology.
By noting Yahias lack of a celestial hypostasis; his absence from the majority of
the most theologically significant aspects of Mandaean literature; and his secondary
association with baptism Lupieri is building proof for the idea that Yahia was not part of
the development of key Mandaean theological concepts. Lupieri puts forth the opinion
that Yahia was not always a significant figure in Mandaeism because if he was he would
appear more prominently in connection with the formation of foundational Mandaean
beliefs. The further implication of Lupieris theory is that Yahia belongs to a later stage
of Mandaean theology, that his rise in status represents a modification on earlier
expressions of Mandaeism. Lupieri never specifically identifies Islam as the impetus for
Yahias assumption of an exalted role within Mandaeism but it is a reasonable to think
that the introduction of Islam to the homeland of the Mandaeans would necessarily
precipitate the need for such a modification, especially in the light of evidence that places
the composition of most of the texts dealing with Yahia in the Islam period. The later
development in Mandaean theology, to which Lupieri argues interest in Yahia belongs,
could very well constitute Mandaeisms response to Islam, thereby strengthening the
premise that the analysis of Mandaean images of Yahia profits most from being
conducted with an eye towards the influence of Islam.
387

Lupieri, 163.

218

Factor Two: Prophethood and Islam

The other reason for examining Mandaean depictions of Yahia as a prophet in
conjunction with Islam stems from the relative importance of the notion of prophethood
as a defining theological concept in Islam compared to its place in Jewish or Christian
theology. While all three religions have established traditions of prophecy there is a
twofold rational for focusing on the Islamic notion of prophecy in this context. The case
for privileging the Islamic concept of prophecy as a comparative model for Yahia comes
first from the centrality of prophethood to the expression of Islamic religious identity and
secondly from scholarly arguments which demonstrate that the development of a
specifically defined concept of prophethood as a cornerstone of theology was especially
prominent within Islam.
To arrive at a sense of the centrality of prophethood as theological principle in
Islam one needs to look no further than the Shahada. The Shahada, or the Islamic
confession of faith, states There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah.388 This concise phrase articulates two of the main ideas of Islamic theology, the
first of which is a profession of a belief in monotheism and the second is the belief in the
notion of prophecy. Both ideas are essential to Islam but it is the elaboration of the
second, prophecy, which is most relevant to the Mandaean depiction of Yahia. According
to Muslim belief Allah has consistently demonstrated his favor towards humanity by
providing every people in every age with a messenger, or prophet, charged with the task
of revealing the message of god to their particular community. Islamic tradition
maintains that the giving of prophets culminated with Muhammad because he, and
388

Surah 96

219

Muslims through him, correctly received the divine message and preserved it from
corruption, thereby rendering any further prophetic activity unnecessary. However, prior
to Muhammads perfect turn as the messenger of Allah Muslims contend that numerous
prophetsmeeting with various degrees of successwere sent to the vast reaches of
humanity.
Islam recognizes two, often overlapping categories of prophecy: the nab (pl.
anbiy) and the rasl (pl. rusul). Although the terms are occasionally used
interchangeably in the Qur`an, Islamic tradition differentiates them as representative of a
lower (nab) and a higher (rasl) order of prophets. Used in a general way, nab can refer
to anyone who prophesizes (cf. Hebrew navi) but when used in contrast to rasl, Islam
defines a nab as a temporary prophet, one who is called upon to give a specific message,
or maybe series of messages, relevant to a particular moment in time. The messages
relayed by a nab are often warnings or cautions and once they have been given the
period of the nabs prophecy expires and they resume a more mundane life. The
majority of prophets identified by Islam fall into the category of anbiy. Some Muslim
scholars place the number of anbiy as high as one hundred twenty-four thousand.389
However the Qur`an mentions only a much more modest twenty-eight anbiy by
name.390 The named anbiy found in the Qur`an include an interesting mixture of
figures traditionally identified by Judaism and Christianity as prophets such as Ezekiel,
Elijah, Elisha, Ezra, David, and Solomon combined with the equally biblical but not
traditionally prophetic Adam, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Aaron and Job. John the
Baptist (known in the Quran as Yahia) is also counted among the anbiy listed in the
389

Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha`labi, Arala al-Majalis Fi Qisas al-Anbiya (Life of the
Prophets: as Recounted by Abu Ishaq) (Leiden: Brill, 2002), xiv.
390
al-Thalabi, xvi, a few of which are also considered rusul.

220

Qur`an, as are Hud, Salih and Shuaib, prophets from tribal Arabia who have no biblical
equivalents. 391 All of these figures stand as representatives of the prophetic tradition that
underpins Islamic belief.
Because they are nab in the general sense of being prophetic, Muhammad, Jesus,
Moses, Abraham, and Noah also appear on the list of anbiy named by the Quran, but
Muslim tradition distinguishes them from the others by giving them the status of rasl,
the higher order of prophecy. Compared to the nab the second category of Muslim
prophet, the rasl, occurs with greater rarity.392 This is in part because the rasl is a
major prophet, an individual to whom the gift of prophecy is entrusted for the long term.
Once a rasl is called their vocation as a messenger or apostle to Allah persists for the
rest of their life. In addition to serving as the long term messengers of god, rusul share a
distinctive set of responsibilities which differentiate them from the ranks of the anbiy.
The responsibilities that define the rasl are 1. occupying the position of leadership
within their community; 2. providing a book393 that serves as the foundational religious
text for the community and which in its original, uncorrupt form is an earthly reflection
of the umm al-kitab(mother book), a heavenly text that records the entirety of the divine
message; and 3. acting as the lawgiver for their community.
As a template for examining the concept of prophethood the detailed descriptions
of the categories of prophet formulated by Islam offer an excellent starting point for
analyzing Mandaean depictions of Yahia, and their applicability to Mandaean
391

For Quranic references to Yahia see Surahs 3:39; 6:85; 19:7; 19:12-15; and 21:90.
According to high estimates within Muslim scholarship there have been around 350 rusul which is only
a fraction of the estimated one hundred thousand anbiy that have appeared through the course of history.
al-Thalabi, xvi.
393
In this context book is being used in the broadest sense of any literary composition, written or oral.
Traditionally all the books associated with rusul began as oral compilations which eventually took written
form.
392

221

representations of Yahia will be considered momentarily but for now the point is to
recognize the level of attention Islam has devoted to articulating a notion of prophethood.
The categorizing and subcategorizing of prophets speaks to the esteem which
prophethood enjoys as a theological principle within Islam. Much like the formulation of
christology marks a crucial development in the formation of Christian theology,
understanding what it is to be a prophet is essential to the theological underpinnings of
Islam. It is also clear from the recitation of the Shahada that belief in the notion of
prophethood is fundamental to the profession of Islam. These things demonstrate that
prophethood is important to Islam in a way that makes it especially appropriate to focus
on Islamic notions of prophethood as a point of comparison for the role of prophethood
adopted by Yahia within Mandaeism.
The theological importance of prophethood for Islam, which makes it the most
useful model for applying to Yahia, is also apparent from a scholarly perspective. For
example, in her study of the signs of prophecy as a theological theme in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam Sarah Stroumsa argues that the Islamic expositions on the
category of prophethood preceded similar discussions within either Judaism or
Christianity and there is a sense that as such notions of prophethood are of primary
concern to Islamic theology but only secondary to Jewish or Christian theology.
Stroumsa acknowledges that references to prophethood appear in Jewish and
Christian literature prior to the existence of Islam but based on an analysis their images of
prophethood she concludes that Judaism and Christianity are not concerned with a
formalization of the category in a way that attests to a theological preoccupation with the
topic. With regard to pre-Islamic Jewish notions of prophethood Stroumsa notes that,

222

although the book of Deuteronomy explicitly defines the criteria by which a true
prophet is to be distinguished from a false one, these criteria had not elicited more
than a few occasional comments among either Jewish or Christian thinkers before
the Islamic period.394
Although the concept of prophethood is available to Jewish and Christian theologians
they are, prior to Islam, relatively uninterested in it.
Stroumsa regards Philo as a perfect example of a pre-Islamic expositor who
engages and sometimes even cites Jewish writings about prophethood but never focuses
on the information or systematically arranges it to define a theological tenet in the way
the same writings were used during the Islamic period.395 Similarly Stroumsa observes
that before Islam, Christian texts devote little attention to the concept of prophethood,
using theories of prophetology only secondarily as a way to explain christology.396
Stroumsa reads the Christian sublimation of prophethood in favor of christology, along
with the treatment of prophethood in Philo as an indication that neither Christian nor
Judaism regarded prophets as a topic of primary theological concern before the
emergence of Islam.
On the other hand Stroumsa sees Islam as immediately and expansively devoted
to the topic of prophethood as a defining component of Islamic theology. Islam boasts an
abundance of literature such as the Signs of Prophecy and Establishment of Prophecy
which are dedicated to discussions of prophethood; its characteristics; and humanitys
need for it. Moreover the range of Muslims who theorize and write about prophethood

394

Sarah Stroumsa, The Signs of Prophecy: The Emergence and Early Development of a theme in Arabic
Theological literature. Harvard Theological Review 78:1-2 (1985): 103.
395
Stroumsa, 103-104.
396
Stroumsa, 105.

223

spans the divide between the Sunni and Shi`a and even occurs within the subgroups (i.e.
the Mutazilis, Asharis, Ismailis) that further define the ideological particularities within
Islam.397 The depth and breadth of Islamic sources on prophecy allows Stroumsa to
conclude that Islam felt the first and probably the greatest theological need to define and
focus on the theme of prophethood.
Stroumsa contrasts earlier Jewish and Christian disinterest in images of
prophethood with the theologically intense studies of the subject within Islam in order to
show that prophethood is not a focal point for Judaism or Christianity until after their
exposure to Islam. This suggests that interest in prophethood as a topic is a direct result
of the influence of Islam and that discussions of prophethood, whatever their context,
ought to be regarded as at least partially appealing or responding to Islam. In light of this
it seems reasonable to allow for the idea that while the Mandaean depictions of Yahia as
a prophet may owe something to either Judaism or Christianity, the interpretation of these
images ought to rely on the Islamic model of prophethood.

Yahia and the Islamic Characteristics of Prophethood

Mandaean depictions of Yahia as a prophet may have appealed to Muslims not
only because the Mandaean texts dealing with Yahia date to the Islamic period or because
Muslims had a predilection for prophethood as a theological theme but also and more
significantly so because the image of Yahia in Mandaean literature closely parallel the
definitional model of prophethood introduced within Islam. The centrality of
prophethood to Islamic theology means that the images and acts associated with
397

Stroumsa, 102-103.

224

prophethood appear repeatedly as a topic in the Qur`an. Using a compilation of many

Quranic references to prophets Marilyn Waldman has pinpointed a list of seven
characteristics which serve as the essential identifying factors of true prophethood.
According to Waldman the qualities set forth by the Qur`an that define a prophet are: 1.
membership in the lineage of established prophets; 2. being the recipient of divine
guidance; 3. being chosen by god but remaining fully human; 4. possessing tendency to
polarize their audience; 5. fulfilling two prophetic functionsbringing good tidings and
articulating warnings; 6. embodying the ideal devotee to the divine; and 7. obedience to
them is conflated with obedience to the divine.398 This list derives from a careful study
of the traits used in Quranic stories to signify the nature of a true messenger (or prophet)
of god. Taken together they create a composite image that is supposed to reflect the
nature of Muhammad. Given this connection to Muhammad it is especially interesting
that each of these qualities can likewise be found in the Mandaean portrayals of Yahia.

One: Part of a Line of Prophets

One of the characteristics that helps define a prophet in Islam is the association of
that individual with the group of people which are recognized as belonging to the line of
prophets. A prophet is understood to be a prophet in part because he399 is connected to a
series of individuals who are also known to be prophets. On the list of Quranic prophets
this connection often, though not always, takes the form of a genealogical association.
For example the Qur`an considers all the patriarchs of the Hebrew Bible, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph to be prophets. Similarly Muhammads prophetic legitimacy is nominally
398

Marilyn R. Waldman, New Approaches to Biblical Material in the Quran. Muslim World 75:1 (Jan
85); 9.
399
There are no female prophets in the Islamic list.

225

established by his genealogical link to Abraham via Ishmael, who the Qur`an also counts
as a prophet. 400
Mandaean texts likewise rely on the details of Yahias genealogy to legitimize his
identity as a prophet. On more than one occasion Yahia is shown to be tied to a
prestigious line of prophetic forebears in order to substantiate the predictions that he is
meant to be a great prophet. In chapter eighteen of the Book of John, the priests of
Jerusalem confront a skeptical Ab Sb Zakhri401, Yahias father, with a lengthy
genealogy of influential teachers a community leaders starting with Moses who are the
ancestors of Ab Sb Zakhri and thus Yahia,
We wish to enlighten to about your tribe and those of your fathers, from whom
you have come. Ms [Moses], son of Amras, came from your tribe. ilai and
ilbai came from your tribe. Brahim and Sral came from your tribe. Bnai and
Beni-Amin came from your tribe. Riai and Rath came from your tribe. Riai
and Bazrai came from your tribe. Zakkai and Zakunai came from your tribe.
Rami and Mahramir came from your tribe. Rabin (Ruben?) and Jahuda came
from your tribe. Ezairab and Razai came from your tribe. Those who built the
dome of the priests and built the painted columns and portraits within the dome,
they came from your tribe. Hannai and Hananai came from your tribe. The man
who wrote the Torah, great is his name, came from your tribe. Rama and Samuel

400

In Islamic belief the Arabs are the descendents of Ismail, who was Abrahams first born and who at
least some Muslims believe was the son Abraham was asked to sacrifice to God. See Reuven Firestone,
Journeys in Holy Lands (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1990).
401
Islamic versions of the life of John also record that Zakhri questioned the likelihood that he or his wife
could have children at their advanced age. See al-Thalabi, 629.

226

came from your tribe. Rab(bi) Hannai and Rab Hananai came from your tribe.
Bne-Risa and Samuel came from your tribe.402
This list of the great luminaries that are part of Yahias genealogy ends with the
observation that the school teachers are also from the same family as Ab Sb
Zakhri. Following this recitation of his family tree the priests remind Ab Sb Zakhri
that like himself all his forbearers initially had neither wives nor sons but in old age each
of them had a son and that they [the sons] were prophets in Jerusalem, thus confirming
a familial precedent for Yahias own prophetic identity.403 Within the structure of the
story itself, the priests words to Ab Sb Zakhri are meant to eradicate doubt about the
predicted birth and prophetic destiny of Yahia but they also serve the wider purpose of
establishing Yahias pedigree as a member of a prophetic line. He is, like many of the
prophets in the Qur`an, genetically predisposed to the role of a prophet.
In a different context, chapter nineteen of the Book of John again raises the topic
of Yahias culminating placement in an exalt line of prophetic individuals. Mythic
entities known to the Mandaeans as the Seven and Twelve404 vouch for the legitimacy of
Yahias prophethood saying,
The robe which the First Life has given to Adam, the Man, the robe which the
First Life has given to Rm, the Man, the robe that the First Life has given to
402

JB 18:74-75, Lidzbarski, 81. The inclusion of feminine names in this list may be reflective of a
Mandaean tendency to regard women as capable of assuming positions of religious authority. Buckley has
argued that there is evidence of women priests in Mandaeism at the time when these texts were written.
See Buckley. The Evidence for Women Priests in Mandaeism. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 59, no. 2
(2000): 93-106.
403
JB 18:75-76, Lidzbarski, 81-82.
404
The Seven and Twelve are probably the planets and zodiac respectively. Normally considered the
enemies of Mandaean religion their testimony in favor of Yahia is a bit odd but given that the story has
them acknowledging their respect for Yahia along with the Life, who is the supreme Mandaean deity, it
might be possible to conclude that the truth of Yahias prophecy is so clear that even the Seven and the
Twelve recognize it. Whatever the interpretation the testimony of the Seven and Twelve, despite their
usually negative connotations, is obviously meant as a positive endorsement of Yahia.

227

urbai, the Man, the robe that the First Life has given to um bar Nu, he has now
given to you. He has given it to you, Yahia.405
What it means to be given a robe by the First Life is not explicitly stated but considering
that this passage follows the First Lifes affirmation of Yahias own assertions of his
devout profession of the message of the Lightworld, through the word of my Father I
shine and through the praise of the Man406, my creator407 and his successful embodiment
of Lightworld teachings, I have not forgotten my night-prayer, not forgotten wondrous
Jordan. I have not forgotten my baptism408 it seems reasonable to conclude that the
gift of the robe symbolizes the bestowing of the mantle of prophecy. The connection
between the robe and prophecy is also suggested when the Seven and the Twelve tell
Yahia, Delightful and fair is thy voice, and none is an equal to you. Beautiful is your
word in your mouth, and precious is the speech which was bestowed upon you.409 This
statement immediately precedes the list of great men who received the robe prior to
Yahia, implying that the gift of prophecy is synonymous with the gift of the robe.
Consequently book nineteen, like book eighteen before it, connects Yahia with the office
of prophethood and seeks to legitimize his identity as a prophet by linking him
genealogically to an already established line of prophets. Both books attest to a pedigree
that places Yahia in accordance with the first criteria in the Islamic model of prophecy.
Moreover by locating him at the end of these of prophetic lineages Mandaean literature

405

JB 19:78, Lidzbarski, 83.

Although it is not clear from the context I think that the Man may refer to Ptahil, the Uthra credited with
creating humanity in Mandaean literature. Consequently, Yahia seems to be saying that the message of the
First Life and prayers to the `utria are essential aspects of his behavior.
407
JB 19:77, Lidzbarski, 82.
408
JB 19:77, Lidzbarski, 82-83.
409
JB 19:78, Lidzbarski, 83.
406

228

presents Yahia as occupying the same, culminating, position of prophecy for Mandaeism
as Muhammad is understood to hold in Islam.

Two: Guided by God

The second trait found among prophets in the Qur`an and shared by Yahia is the
idea that all prophets receive divine guidance. Specifically this means that god intervenes
in the lives of the prophets so as to ensure their role in the transmission of the divine
message. For Muslims the angel Jibril (the biblical Gabriel), who was sent to
Muhammad by Allah for the purpose of relating the heavenly revelations of the Quran,
offers the most obvious example of divine guidance. In this equation, Jibril acts as a
proxy for Allah. The revelations come from Allah but because, according to Muslim
belief, no human, not even Muhammad, is capable of receiving the voice of god directly
Jibril is called upon to facilitate the intervention of the divine. Muhammads encounters
with the angel Jibril are quintessential Muslim examples of moments when the divine
intervenes to guide a prophet.
The notion that the divine intervenes in humanity in order to assist the prophets is
also apparent in the Muslim story about the fate of Hagar and Ismail. In Islamic
versions of this story, which is also known from the Hebrew Bible, Allah leads a frantic,
cast out, and desert bound Hagar to the Zam-zam well so that she will have what she
needs to nourish her young son, Ismail. In this story, Ismail is the prophet and Hagar
functions as the figure through which the divine bestows his guidance. By providing
Hagar with the well of Zam-zam, Allah ensures that Ismail will survive.410 This is a
theologically important intervention from the perspective of Islam because according to
410

For more on the Islamic story about Hagar and Ismail see Firestone, 39-47.

229

Islamic tradition Ismail, along with his father Ibrahim, is responsible for originally
building the Kaba and introducing monotheism to the Arabs.411 Allahs interactions
with Hagar on behalf of Ismail are another example of how Islam sees divine guidance
as an essential characteristic of prophethood.
Considering this Islamic precedent it is interesting therefore that the Mandaean
stories about Yahia likewise boast of moments when the divine intercedes in the life of
Yahia to provide guidance in order to further Yahias divine mission. Instances of divine
intervention pepper the narrative about Yahia in the Haran Gawaita. In the first example
of divine involvement in the unfolding of Yahias life the Lightworld-beings Hibil Ziwa
and Anu-Uthra (with the help of the lilith Sufnai) are sent by the First Life soon after
Yahias birth to spirit the boy away to a sacred place,
And they did not alter the order of commands which emanated from the presence
of the great Father of GlorySufnai the lilith took him (the child) before the eyes
of his mother fell upon himat the orders of Anu-Uthra. And they mounted up
towards Parwan, the white mountain(a place where) fruit and sky is (are?)
large.412 There they set down Yahia near the Tree which nourisheth
nurslingsThen Sufnai the lilith returned to her place. When thirty days had
passed, Hibil Ziwa came at the command of the great first Father of Glory, and he
came to the Median hill-country and sent Anu-Uthra to Bihram, son of the
uthras and to the Median mountains.413 And they took Bihram from the Median
hills and went(to Parwan?) and performed baptism and baptized the child
beside the Tree that nourisheth nurslings. And (when) he was seven years old,
411

Firestone, 80-93.
JB 32:118-119, Lidzbarski,116 records a similar journey to Parwan after Yahias birth.
413
Bihram is often identified as the founder of Mandaean baptism rites.
412

230

Anu-Uthra came and wrote for him the A, Ba, Ga, Daand until he was
twenty-two years old taught him about all nasiruta.414
There appear to be two goals behind the divine abduction of Yahia, both of which
evidence efforts by the divine to give guidance to Yahia. The first instance of divine
intervention comes in the form of the transfer of responsibility for Yahias care and
upbringing to a spiritual source. Mandaean tradition maintains that children who die
before they are baptized are sent to a heavenly limbo where they are fed by the fruit of a
mystical tree known as lana d mrabia yanqia.415 According to the Haran Gawaita
Yahia is not dead but he is nevertheless brought to this special liminal tree and given
access to its other worldly nourishment. This makes Yahia an exceptional figure, one
who has been singled out by the First Life for special nurturing which guarantees that
from the first moments of his life Yahia has unprecedented exposure to the Lightworld.
This special connection to the Lightworld and its knowledge makes Yahia uniquely well
prepared for his later role as Mandaean prophet.
The second instance of divine guidance associated with Yahia follows upon the
first. The divine nurturing given to Yahia as a result of his abduction by the Lightworldbeings soon evolves into divine education. The Haran Gawaita reports that Yahia
learned everything he needed to know about being a Mandaean from Anu-Uthra.416
The instruction of Yahia includes both the basics of language, namely learning his A,
Ba, Ga, Das as the text puts it, and the accruement of the more specialized knowledge of
414

Drower HG, 6-7, italics appear in the original, words in parentheses also appear in the original and
indicate points where the text is corrupt or where Drower was uncertain of the exact translation.
415
Drower, Diwan Abatur, 151. It is also notable that in the allegory about Miriai in JB 35 Miriai initially
appears as a tree that gives shelter and sustenance to the bird/Mandaeans. This suggests that the image of a
life giving tree that is also a source of Mandaean knowledge is a recurrent theme in Mandaean literature.
416
GR 2.1:153 also records an account of Yahia receiving comprehensive religious instruction and baptism
from a Lightworld being.

231

the nasiruta. In terms of his religious edification and future as a prophet the latter
teachings are especially important because the nasiruta consists of everything that a
Mandaean priest learnsprayers, rituals, theology, secret interpretations, exorcisms, and
astrologyin order to occupy the Mandaean office of priesthood .417 This means that
Anu-Uthra was in charge of both Yahias general education and his priestly training.
That Yahia should learn these things from Anu-Uthra is significant given that
Mandaeism traditionally regards Anu-Uthra as the giver of their culture, he is the
Lightworld-being who originally taught humanity how to be Mandaeans. Yahia has been
taught by the master. No one can boast a better understanding of Mandaean learning than
Anu-Uthra, consequently Yahias introduction to Mandaeism can have no better source.
The story of Yahias education is then a second example of an instance in which the
divine reached out to Yahia to ensure that he was ideally prepared to assume the mantle
of prophethood.
The story in the Haran Gawaita could be seen as a combination of the divine
intercessions found in the Muslim accounts of Muhammad and Jibril and Hagar and
Ismail. Like the interactions between Muhammad and Jibril, Yahia receives from AnuUthra the religious information he needs to know in order to be an effective prophet for
the Mandaean people.418 On the other hand like Hagar and Ismail, the infant Yahia is
guided by divine forces to the sustenance that will allow him to grow into a man who will
act as a religious leader to his community. In both cases the underlying theme for Yahia
like that of Muhammad and Ismail is that the First Life or Allah has intervened to

417

See Drower HG, 7, fn 2.

The story of Yahias youthful education finds another interesting Islamic parallel in Surah 19:12 which
says, in part, And we gave him [John the Baptist] wisdom while was yet a child. This seems to
correspond to the Haran Gawaitas account of the religious education of Yahia.
418

232

provide the guidance necessary for its recipient to better profess the divine message. In
this respect the Mandaean depictions of Yahia are once again in accordance with Islamic
characteristics that define prophethood.

Three: Chosen but Human

Regarding the third characteristic of Islamic prophethood Waldman writes, They
[the prophets] are chosen by God, usually from among their own people, without seeking
to be chosen. Connected with this, their mortality is constantly stressed.419 Both of
these factors: chosen-ness coupled with the maintenance of a purely human identity are
likewise focal points for the Mandaean stories about Yahia.
The Haran Gawaita highlights the idea that Yahia was specially chosen by the
divine by telling how the First Life orchestrated the birth of Yahia for the purpose of
eradicating the false the religion of Ruha and Adonai (i.e. Judaism),
The First Life conceived a plan for gaining a grasp in order to destroy the
mysteries of Adonai from the seas and to destroy the plot of Ruha and Adonai
which came (emanated) from the house of Ruha; to ruin the scheme of Ruha
before the presence of the great Father of Glory and to propagate the mysteries (of
the Great Life)And in the great Jordan a pure seed was formedand came and
was sown in the womb of Nibai, so that from it a child might come into being, a
prophet of the great Father of Glory, praised by his name! in order to destroy the
building of Ruha and Adonai.420

419
420

Waldman, 9.
Drower HG, 4-5.

233

This story of Yahias conception clearly shows that the First Life specifically chose, even
created, Yahia to be a prophet. He was designed for the express purpose of
redisseminating the message of the Lightworld within his community to combat the
influence of Judaism. The importance of the prophet task with which Yahia has been
assigned stems from the Mandaean perception of Judaism as a false religion that
threatens to lead otherwise good Mandaeans theologically astray. The Haran Gawaita
maintains that Yahia was singled out as a prophet by the First Life in order to re-proclaim
his teachings and in the process reclaim the teachings of the Lightworld from the alleged
perversions of Judaism. Rectifying Judaisms wrongs is precisely the same as one of the
prophetic tasks associated with Muhammad in Islam. Not only was Yahia chosen, like
Muhammad, by the divine to be a prophet, he was chosen to be a prophet for one of the
same reasons as Muhammad. In this respect the Mandaean depictions of Yahia and his
chosen status are well aligned with the first part of the third characteristic of prophethood
in the Islam model.
But lest the story of Yahias chosen-ness and miraculous conception cause
speculation about the nature of Yahias being Mandaean literature repeatedly includes
details that insist upon his humanity. For example, in chapter thirty-two of the Book of
John Yahia, himself, reports that despite being created by the forces of the Lightworld
that he laid in the womb of Enishbai for nine months as do all other children and
although he avoided the midwives and bells that commonly accompanied Jewish children
at birth he was definitely born from Enishbai.421 The point of Yahias narration of his
birth seems to be to emphasize that Yahia experienced the same gestation and birth as
any child. Emphasizing the normalcy of the circumstances surrounding his gestation and
421

JB 32:117, Lidzbarski, 115.

234

birth affirms the fullness of Yahias humanity, preempting speculation that might
otherwise associate his greatness with a divine persona.422
Interestingly the story revisits the topic of the circumstances of Yahias birth
again a bit later when, having returned from his spiritual education in Mount Parwan, the
nature of Yahias humanity understandably might have come under question. In response
to uncertainties about the propriety of the greeting Yahia gives his mother upon his return
Yahia indignantly announces Nine months I abode in her womb, as long as all other
children and that it is not only his right but his obligation to therefore accord her the
respect owed by all children to their parents.423 As with before the purpose of mentioning
his nine month gestation and noting that it corresponds with that of all children seems to
be to underline the fact that with regard to the nature of his humanity Yahia is
indistinguishable from anyone else. He may be called for an exception task but apart
from that he is fully human, complete with the life experiences and obligations to prove
it.
That Yahia is subject to all the expectations of a normal human being is also
attested to in chapter thirty-one of the Book of John. Here envoys from the Lightworld
remind Yahia that although he has religious duties associated with his prophethood those
duties cannot be served at the expense of the mundane responsibilities of daily life. A
letter from the Lightworld tells Yahia to get married and have children with the specific
goal of maintaining earthly existence and then instructs him as to how to best divide his
time between his religious and familial obligations,

422

It is reasonable to think that this sentiment make reflect an anti-Christian polemic along the same lines
of the Muslim critique of Christianitys assertion that Jesus was the son of god.
423
JB 32:121, Lidzbarski, 118.

235

On Monday night and Tuesday night go first to your bed. On Wednesday and
Thursday night devote yourself to hallowed prayer. On Friday night and Saturday
night go first to your bed. On the night of Sunday and the night of Day devote
yourself to hallowed prayer.424
The letter advises an even division between both sets of responsibilities suggesting that
the obligations of family life (including procreation) should be held with as much regard
as the time spent in prayer. The conclusion to be drawn from this story is that for all his
prophetic greatness Yahia, like other all other Mandaean men should be duty bound to act
as husband and a father. The text accentuates effectively accentuates Yahias humanity
by insisting that he lead a normal human life.
Finally evidence that speaks to the definitively human character of Yahia comes
from a description of Yahia in chapter thirty-two of the Book of John which takes pains to
demonstrate that on account of physical resemblance between Yahia and his parents it
must be concluded that he truly is the biological child of Enishbai and Zakhria,
His mouth is like yours [Enishbai] and his lips like his father Aba Sba Zakhria.
His eyes are like yours and his brow like his father Aba Sba Zakhria. His nose is
like yours and his hands like his father Aba Sba Zakhria.425
Highlighting the genetic inheritances Yahia owes to Enishbai and Zakhria is a subtle and
effective way to make the argument that he is in fact a product of their union. This quiets
any debate about the nature of Yahias origins. Although he may have been formed by
the First Life, biologically speaking Yahia is linked to Enishbai and Zakhria, which in
turn means Yahia is a human of human stock.

424
425

JB 31:111, Lidzbarski, 110-111.

JB 32:120, Lidzbarski, 117.

236

The appearance of multiple attestations to the humanity of Yahia fulfills the

second half of the third Islamic criteria for identifying a prophet. More significantly it
has the tone of possibly engaging in the same critique of Christianitys conception of
Jesus as does Islam. For Islam, the Christian belief in the divinity of Jesus is problematic
because it violates the principle of the oneness of god. In Mandaeism, Yahia and Jesus
are repeatedly placed in opposition, with Yahia representing all the qualities of ideal
(Mandaean) religion and Jesus embodying false and corrupt religion.426 Given the
oppositional dynamic posed between Yahia and Jesus in Mandaean literature the
emphasis on Yahias humanity could be read as both an appeal to the theme of a human
prophet in Islam as well as a tacit repudiation of the Christian image of Jesus divinity
that is likewise rejected by Islam.

Four: Polarizing the Audience

The forth quality associated with prophets in Islam is the tendency to articulate an
us versus them dynamic with regard to the relationship between different religious
communities.427 This type of polarization can be seen in the way that the Qur`an speaks
about other religions, especially Judaism and Christianity. According to Muslim belief
the Jews and Christians were given access to the divine message but for various reasons
their understanding and presentation of it has been corrupted. This means that Judaism
and Christianity pose a particularly troublesome threat to Islam. The perception that the
Jews and Christians misinterpreted and perverted places the religions of Judaism and
Christianity in direct conflict with the Muslims. Judaism and Christianity represent a
426

For details on the relationship between Yahia and Jesus see book 30 of the Book of John.
This may be a bit of an over-restatement which takes Waldmans forth characteristic beyond her original
understanding.

427

237

force that good Muslims must be constantly mindful of and ready to dispute. The Qur`an
instructs Muslims to repudiated the misguided teachings of Judaism and Christianity,
Say: People of the Book, why do you debar believers from the path of God and
seek to make it crooked when you have witnessed all? God is never heedless of
what you do.428
And warns,
Believers, if you yield to a group from among those who were given the Book,
they will turn you back from faith to unbelief.429
The tone of these statements, along with others found throughout the Qur`an creates an
atmosphere of antagonism between Islam and the religions of Judaism and Christianity.
The latter represent sets of belief that oppose Islam and present a danger to the religious
well being of the Muslim community. Self preservation (and the goal of proselytizing)
requires that Muslims challenge the religiosity of their Jewish and Christian neighbors in
a manner that effectively renders Judaism and Christianity a flawed them to the
perfected us of Islam.
Following a similar pattern Mandaean literature repeatedly shows Yahia giving
voice to scathing critiques of the false beliefs of other religions that threaten to undermine
the truth of Mandaeism. For example in chapter twenty-three of the Book of John Yahia
cryptically warns his co-religionists about the mine from which the Woman dug. He
tells them that the Woman is impure and disorderly like the evil mountain and the
shameful void and dead children.430 The Woman so thoroughly maligned in this
passage is undoubtedly Ruha, who elsewhere in Mandaean literature is associated with
428

Surah 3:99.
Surah 3:100.
430
JB 23:87, Lidzbarski, 90-91.
429

238

the mountains and voids of the Darkness and is the mother of grotesquely misshapen
children sometimes referred to as abortions.431 Mandaeism also identifies Ruha as the
mother of all the worlds false religions but she is especially connected to Judaism. For
example in a story recounted in GR 15.11 the Seven Stars, who are the sons of Ruha, ask
her what part of the world should belong to them and she tells them over and over again
that together with her they will claim Jerusalem and establish Jerusalem as their very
own.432 Given this context an admonishment to avoid the mine dug by the Woman
ought to be read as an attempt to proscribe Mandaean contact with other religionsthe
products of Ruhas laborespecially Judaism.
It might also be concluded that since the Woman/Ruha is so utterly defiled that
anything connected to her would also carry her taint, meaning that the other religions are
impure at their core. In fact the remaining portion of chapter twenty-three seems to
suggest that there is no value in a baptism done by the Woman or in her name.433 The
dismissal of the efficacy of a religions baptism is, for Mandaeism, tantamount to calling
a religion worthless. The message conveyed by this chapter is that Ruha embodies
defilement and her religions offer nothing but sacrilege. What is not explicitly said but is
certainly understood by the Mandaean audience of this text is that the negative
assessment of Ruha and her religions stands in contrast to the truth and purity of
Mandaeism.

431

See GR 3 and 5.1. Buckley has tried to account for Ruha by comparing her to the fallen Sophia in
Gnostic texts. See Buckley. A Rehabilitation of Spirit Ruha in Mandaean Religion. History of Religions
22, no. 1 (1982): 60-84. However, given the repeated association of Ruha with lying and untruth it might
also be worth considering a connection between the Mandaean figure and the Zoroastrian demon-ness,
Jarika. See Jamsheed Choksy, Good, Evil, and Gender: Facets of the Feminine in Zoroastrianism (New
York: Peter Lang. 2002).
432
GR 15.11: 329, Lidzbarski, 337-338.
433
JB 23:87, Lidzbarski, 91.

239

In a different passage, that sounds even more like the Islamic condemnation of
other religions Yahia relates that the Jews received the message from god but rejected it,
They [Lightworld envoys] took the letter and laid it in the hands of the Jews.
They [the Jews] open it, read it and see that it does not contain what they wish,
that it does not contain what their souls willed.434
Following their disappointment with the letter the Jews pass it on to Yahia who
immediately recognizing its value, is only too happy to follow its message and diligently
pass along what he has learned to his disciples Jaqif, Beni-Amin and aml.435 The
details of this story are interesting because they indicate that according to Mandaean
tradition the Jews were given access to true religion but it did not accord with their
desires so they relinquished it to the Mandaeans who had sufficient religious perspicacity
to know to embrace the letter. The Jews are portrayed as impious fools who fail to
recognize the message of the divine when it is given to them. On the other hand, Yahia
and the Mandaeans are shown to be willing receptors of the Lightworlds teachings. The
Jewish reaction or more accurately their failure to react to the religious truths offered by
the letter casts the Jews in the position of a tradition that had access to gods message but
squandered it. This is remarkably similar to the Muslim belief that the Jews once
possessed the message of god in the form of the Hebrew Bible but mistranslation and
scribal carelessness had rendered the message contained therein corrupt and not longer
theologically efficacious. In other words the truth was offered to the Jews but by virtue
of their disinterested actions they lost it. The correspondence between the Mandaean and

434
435

JB 26:91, Lidzbarski, 94.

JB 26:91-92, Lidzbarski, 94.

240

Muslim understanding of Judaisms relationship to the possession of divine revelation is

striking similar.

Five: Two functions

The short description of the fifth characteristic is potentially misleading, the
quality of having two functions does not apply to the prophets but rather to the prophetic
messages which they profess. According to Waldmans assessment of the Islamic
constructions of the characteristics that define prophethood, prophetic messages tend to
serve one of two very generally defined purposes: they either act as warnings or bring
good tidings. In the context of Mandaeism the division of the prophetic messages into
two categories can be seen in the fact that the teachings ascribed to Yahia take the form
of either admonishments about the negative consequences of not being a good Mandaean
or pronouncements that give their listeners the instructions necessary to be a good
Mandaean and reap the benefits thereof.
Chapter twenty-three of the Book of John, which was noted above for its
polarizing effect, also has the cautionary tone characteristic of the first type of Yahias
messages. The descriptions of the Woman and her depravity are meant to scare good
Mandaeans away from the practices associated with other religions. A similar message
warning of the dire fate that will befall those who engage in practices that violate
Mandaean principles appears in chapter twenty-eight of the Book of John. Here Yahia

241

cites a laundry list of punishments that correspond to transgressions against Mandaean

purity rules,
Anyone who commits a sexual offense will find his affliction in fire. Anyone
who commits theft will be bound to the mountain of Darkness. Anyone who
desires the wife of his neighbor will have the fires of righteousness to destroy his
soul. Anyone who desires a widowed woman will be bound to the mountain of
Darkness. Anyone who desires a bride436 will be tied down with a doublemachine437 and will not fill his eyes with Abathur438
The recitation of sins and punishments continues for almost another fifty lines and covers
everything from lying to falling to perform ritual baptisms to loving silver and gold.439
The prevailing message is that every imaginable offense brings with it a corresponding
chastisement and that one ought to take care to avoid all such things.
The admonishing messages issued by Yahia also take the form of predictions
about future events. Following a pattern typical of religious literature from Mesopotamia
during late antiquity Yahia foreshadows the trials and tribulations of the coming
apocalypse,
Yahia predicts in the night and says, Oh you noblemen, who lie here, oh you
noble ladies, who will not awake, oh you noblemen, who lie here, what will you
do on Judgment day? When the soul is strips off the body, what will you do on
Judgment day? Oh you distracted, confused, corrupt world!...[The last day] is like

436

Presumably this means a bride other than ones own, since marriage is repeatedly encouraged elsewhere
in Mandaean literature.
437
The meaning of this word is unclear. Lidzbarski notes that while he does not understand it either, the
term is found elsewhere in Mandaean literature, see JB 28, Lidzbarski, 98, fn 3.
438
JB 28:97, Lidzbarski, 98.
439
JB 28:97-100, Lidzbarski, 98-100.

242

a feast for which the worlds and aeons are waiting. The planets are fatted oxen
who stand there for the day of slaughter. The children of Tibil [earth] are fatted
rams who stand in the markets for sale. But my friends, who pay homage to the
Life, their sins and transgressions will be forgiven.440
According to this warning only those who commit themselves to the precepts of
Mandaeism will emerge from end times unharmed, everyone else will suffer for their
adherence to false religions. This message has resonance with Islamic predictions about
the opposing apocalyptic fates of believers and non-believers such as they are spelled out
in Surah fifty-six (as well as elsewhere in the Qur`an),
And the those foremost in faith will be foremost in the afterlife. These will be
nearest to Allah, in the Garden of Bliss, a number of people from those of old, and
a few from those of later times. The will on thrones encrusted with gold and
precious stones, reclining on them, facing each other. Round about them
will serve youths of perpetual freshness, with goblets, shining beakers, and cups
filled out of clear-flowing fountainsThe companions of the Left Handwhat
will be the companions of the Left Hand? They will be in the midst of a fierce
blast of fire and boiling in water, and in the shades of black smoke. Nothing will
be there

to refresh, nor to please.441

Both the Mandaean and Muslim warnings about the coming apocalypse are deliberately
vague and yet they seem to be drawn from a similar template.
The messages of Yahia also reflect the Islamic model in the sense that their other
function is one of direct theological instruction. The warnings issued by Yahia also

440
441

JB 25:89-91, Lidzbarski, 92-94.

Surah 56:10-44. See also Surahs 82-84; 101; 103 and 109.

243

fulfill an instructive purpose in that they outline for their audience the behaviors they
need to eschew if they wish to live the life of a good Mandaean. In addition to providing
insight into that which a good Mandaean ought to avoid, Yahia also teaches the
Mandaeans about the religious behaviors they ought to engage. For example, at the end
of chapter twenty-four of the Book of John, Yahia combines a warning about avoiding the
prayers of the Women with a reminder about the need regular baptism and
purification.442 Chapter twenty-nine similarly records Yahias advice on the necessity of
giving alms, Give alms, which are worth more than a wife and child. Wages and alms
will promote the Way like the hand which shall reach to the mouth.443 The image of a
hand reaching to the mouth is a reference to the Mandaean manner of praying so the
comparison of giving alms to this action implies that giving of alms contributes to the
refinement of the religious character of a Mandaean in the same way as praying.
This is a particularly interesting stance for Mandaeism to take on the giving of
alms because it corresponds closely with the status Islam assigns to the practice of giving
alms. According to Islamic theology the giving of alms, or zakat, is one of the five pillars
of Muslim belief. Surah 24: 56 instructs Muslims to, Pay the prayer, and pay the alms,
and obey the Messenger. This means that to be a practitioner of Islam in good standing
Muslims are expected to give alms, just like they are expected to pray, and accept the
message given through Muhammad. It would seem then that by instructing Mandaeans
to regard the giving of alms as tantamount to praying Yahia is both following the Islamic
prophethood model of providing a message with a positive function and voicing a
message that is notably in harmony with Islamic theology.

442
443

JB 24:89, Lidzbarski, 92.

JB 29:102, Lidzbarski, 101-102.

244

Six: Idealized Believers

According to Waldman, prophets that follow the Islamic model exhibit a
constellation of exemplary personal characteristics which makes them the ideal
practioners of their faith.444 A survey of the Mandaean depictions of Yahia reveals a
similarly religiously efficacious perfection of his character. Evidence of Yahias
exemplary nature is available from the earliest stages of his life through until his death.
As has already been noted, Mandaean tradition contends that Yahias priestly education
(nasiruta) came under the tutelage of Anu-uthra, the Lightworld being elsewhere
credited by Mandaean literature with originally giving the Mandaeans their traditions.
The exceptional pedigree of Yahias religious education indicates that his understanding
of Mandaeism and its practices necessarily exceed that of normal Mandaeans. Yahia
learns about Mandaean religion from its source, consequently there is no danger that his
understand and practice of Mandaeism suffers from the corruption that can occur when
religious education is transmitted through a secondary source. The Mandaeism professed
by Yahia is perfect because it is rooted in perfection. This means that from the very
moment Yahia becomes familiar with the precepts of Mandaeism he is ideally poised to
embrace them; enact them; and share them with others..
Further evidence of Yahias ideal nature appears in passages from various chapter
of the Book of John that tout the ability of Yahia to resist temptation and to devote
himself to Mandaean practice,
I [Yahia] have built no house in Jerusalem, have erected no throne. I have not
loved the wreath of roses, nor the dealings of the lovely women. I have not loved
444

Waldman, 9.

245

the deficient, nor the cup of wine drinkers. I have not loved corporeal food, and
envy found no place in me. I have not forgotten my night prayers, not forgotten
the wondrous Jordan. I have not forgotten my baptism, not my pure sign. I have
not forgotten Sunday, and the evening of the Day has not condemned me. I have
not forgotten ilmai and Nidbai who have a dwelling in the house of Life. They
acknowledge my purity and let me ascend; they know that I have no fault or
defect.445
Similar sentiments about the awesome nature of Yahias character are echoed in another
chapter by birds that are so enchanted by the truth of Yahias preaching that they attest to
his strong willed disavowal of lewdness, wanton women, wine and other impieties.446
The appearance of birds singing the praises of Yahia is an interesting detail
considering the anthropomorphic enchantment of birds also appears as proof of Miriais
exceptional religious character in one of the Mandaean stories about her. Chapter thirtyfive of the Book of John recounts that when Miriai was preaching birds gathered at the
sound of her voice and where transfixed and spiritually transported by her message. The
text also seems to suggest that the reaction of the birds caused Miriais Jewish detractors
to accede to her religious authority, When the Jews saw this [the birds], they stood
before her.447 Faced with the testimony of the birds the Jews appear to have no choice
but to likewise acknowledge the power of Miriai. It should also be noted that all of this
occurs on in response to actions taken by Miriai that cast her as the ideal embodiment of
a Mandaean priest. To receive the approval of birds might then be read as a traditional
Mandaean sign of exceptional religious character.
445

JB 19:77-78, Lidzbarski, 82-83.

JB 21:83, Lidzbarski, 86-86.
447
JB 35: 138, Lidzbarski, 134.
446

246

Seven: To Obey the Prophet is to Obey God

The final quality associated with prophethood in Islam is not so much a
characteristic of the prophet as it is a perception of his role. Waldman maintains that
with regard to the Quranic prophets there is a certain level of inseparability between
taking heed of them and the need to take heed of god and Islam in general.448 Waldman
does not expand upon this observation but it seems to indicate that prophets ought to be
thought of as an integral part of the large system of religious belief. While not equivalent
with the divine, the prophet is deeply associated with it.
In the Mandaean texts one of the ways that the idea that Yahia and his message
are inseparably entwined with the divine is expressed is through Yahias pronouncement
that he is speaking from the strength of my Father and with the praise of the Man, my
creator.449 This description of the source of his voice makes it clear that Yahia is
working fully from within the auspices of the Lightworld. By acknowledging that his
voice derives from the authority of the Father and that he has the approval of the Man
Yahia is claiming his rightful place within the larger complex of Mandaean religion. The
Lightworld beings are the source and sanctifiers of Yahias message but he is the
messenger. Without the Father or the Man Yahia would have no purpose but at the same
time without Yahia the Father and the Man would have no voice, their relationships are
mutually interdependent.
Another example of how the message of Yahia comes to be indistinguishable
from the larger purpose of Mandaean religion is found in chapter twenty-one of the Book

448
449

Waldman, 11.
JB 19:77, Lidzbarski, 82.

247

of John. This chapters alludes to the fact that accepting the teachings of Yahia is
tantamount to accepting the whole of Mandaeism by recounting how those that hear
Yahias voice immediately desist from behaviors that contradict Mandaean ethics,
Before the voice of my discourse the readers read no more in Jerusalem.
The wanton take leave of their sexual offence and the women do not go outthe
women of Israel do not wear dresses of color, the brides wear no gold and the
ladies no jewels.450
The implication of this passage seems to be that Yahias message carries with it the
power to dissuade people from the preoccupations that prevent them from living a good
Mandaean life. Exposure to the message professed by Yahia awakens an appreciation for
the teachings of Mandaeism and inspires others to embrace the religion. Here again the
message of Yahia is shown to be inseparable from the overall function of Mandaean
religion. This positioning of Yahia and his message is keeping with the way that
Waldman contends the message of the Quranic prophets fits into the schematics of Islam
and so the Mandaean depictions of Yahia demonstrate another affinity with the
characteristics of Islamic prophethood.
The point for point correspondence between the image of Yahia that appears in
Mandaean literature and the seven characteristics Waldman outlined as definitive for the
notion of prophethood in Islam should not be regarded as mere coincidence. I think
rather that it argues for a conscious connection between the two traditions on the topic of
prophethood. More specifically I think the similarities between the nature of Yahia and
the prophetic figures in the Qur`an can be read as evidence of an attempt by the

450

JB 21:82-82, Lidzbarski, 86.

248

Mandaeans to present Yahia in a manner that is consistent with, even appeals to, Islamic
sensibilities about prophethood.
The reasons for thinking that Mandaean portrayals of Yahia are the product, at
least to a certain extent, of Islamic influence are as follows. First, as has already been
established, the majority of Mandaean texts that focus on Yahia appear to have been
written after the initial spread of Islam. This means that the Qur`an and the models of
prophetic behavior contained therein would have been available to the composers of the
Yahias stories. Furthermore the Mandaean texts have also been shown to have a
familiarity, even an interest in topics central to Islamic theology, for example the
apologetic on Islamic law found in the Haran Gawaita.451 If the Mandaeans are
cognizant of the complexities of the law as an issue with in Islamic theology it is
reasonable to assume that the Mandaeans would also be aware of other religious concepts
important to Islam, including that of prophethood. So the timing of the composition of the
Yahia centered Mandaean texts and their familiarity with some of the fundamentals of
Islamic theology would suggest the flow of material between Islam to Mandaeism was a
distinct possibility. Furthermore, to the extent that the Mandaean theological interest in
Yahia seems to date to seventh or eighth century C.E. it makes sense that familiarity with
the concepts of prophethood that may have been percolating among Muslims during this
time could have spilled over into Mandaeism and had a role in shaping the trajectory
along with Mandaean depictions of Yahia developed.
The second reason to reason to believe that the Mandaean traditions about Yahia
were inspired by Islam is because discussing and outlining the characteristics of

451

Drower HG, 18.

249

prophethood is a well established tradition within Islam.452 Waldmans list may be

product of modern scholarship but lists of a similar naturewith qualities drawn from
examples in the Qur`an and grouped together to support lengthy discussions about what
makes a true prophethave precedent in Islam. Consequently the possibility exists that
the Mandaeans had access to a Waldman-like set of characteristics, generated by Islamic
scholars, that spelled out identifying characteristics of a prophet, which served as a guide
for the Mandaeans in their efforts to mold Yahia.
The final reason for crediting Islamic notions of prophethood as a source for
Mandaean images of Yahia is the benefit that Mandaeism gains from the appropriation of
such imagery. I maintain that the Mandaean Yahia is modeled after Islamic paradigms of
prophethood because it is religiously advantageous for Mandaeism to present itself as a
religion in possession of a prophet. For Islam having a prophet is an essential
characteristic of true religion. To the extent that Mandaean depictions of Yahia follow
the model established for prophethood Mandaeism is able to claim the status of a true
religion according to the standards of their Islamic neighbors. Whatever else Yahia may
be or mean to the Mandaeans, the depictions of him are constructed in such a way to
signal to the Muslims that Mandaeism belongs to the elite status of religions, like
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which boast well defined prophetic traditions.

452

See Stroumsa, 102-103.

250

Chapter 7
Making Yahia a Rasul

Presenting Yahia in a manner consistent with the characteristics that define

prophethood in Islam is, I think, the first in a series of overtures aimed at the religious
sensibilities of the Muslims. Being associated with prophets in general elevates Yahias
status but it does not appear that the Mandaeans were content to simply cast him as one
among the many prophetic figures recognized by Islam. Aware, perhaps, of the Islamic
division of prophethood into the lower and higher categories of nabi and rasl Mandaean
literature seems to push Yahia towards the latter designation, portraying him in a way
that would earn him the title of Mandaean rasl. Proof of the Mandaean effort to mold
Yahia into a figure with the status comparable to that which the Muslims assigned to
Moses for Judaism; Jesus for Christianity; and Muhammad for Islam is once again
encoded in Mandaean writings about Yahia. The Mandaeans never explicitly declare
Yahia a rasl but an examination of Mandaean literature shows that beyond exhibiting
the general qualities associated with Islamic prophets Yahia is depicted as fulfilling all
three of the functions: messenger, bringer of a holy book, and giver of religious law, that
define a rasl.

Messenger
To the extent that all prophets convey that which has been transmitted to them
from the divine it might be said that the primary role of prophethood is to be a messenger.
For rusul this messengerial duty is especially pronounced because unlike the anbiy who
251

act as messengers briefly, perhaps only once or twice to articulate a singular idea or
warning, once a rasl is called upon to be a messenger it is a role that endures, it is not a
passing phase but rather a defining part of the prophets character from that time forward.
In this sense rusul are distinctively identified as messengers.
Given Islams strong association of the rusul with a long term commitment to
acting as a messenger for the divine it is notable that Mandaean literature subtly but
insistently portrays Yahia as someone whose call to serve at the behest of the Lightworld
spanned his entire life. Acknowledgements of Yahias call to prophecy begin before he
is even conceived. For example, after a long episode in which the Jewish priests struggle
with and finally interpret a dream that heralds Yahias conception the priests adamantly
inform a still doubtful Zakhria, our [the priests] word shall be realized, and the dreams
that we [the priests] have seen [sic]. Yhn [Yahia] will be conceived in the Jordan, and
will be called a prophet in Jerusalem.453 Although the Jewish priests are regarded by the
Mandaeans as the nemeses of Yahia they nevertheless appear in this story as the heralds
of his true prophetic nature. This is actually an especially convincing testimonial to
Yahias prophethood because the Jewish priests have everything to lose from Yahias
donning of the prophetic mantle. According to Mandaean belief Yahia was created by
the Life for the express purpose of usurping the Jewish priesthood, yet the Jewish still
proclaim his destiny as prophet. When even your enemies are compelled to see you as a
prophet it erases any doubt about the veracity of such an identity. Yahia is so sure to be a
prophet that those who will suffer most from his rise to prophethood are the first to
acknowledge his role as prophet.

453

JB 18:73, Lidzbarski, 80.

252

Interestingly the early hagiographical tales about Muhammad also include an

affirmation of Muhammads destiny as a prophet that comes from a luminary of another
religion. Ibn Ishaq reports a story about Muhammads boyhood in which Muhammad
meets a Christian monk named Bahira who examines Muhammad and declares him to be
marked with the sign of a prophet, Then Bahira looked on his back and discovered the
seal of prophecy between his shoulders.454 After making this discovery Bahira returns
Muhammad to his uncle Abu Talib with the warning to guard Muhammad against the
Jews because something very great will happen to this nephew of yours and when the
Jews find out about Muhammad and his destiny they will try to destroy him.455 Bahira
seems to be implying that Muhammads future of as a prophet holds a threat for the
religious authority of the Jews in a manner not unlike Mandaeisms claims for the
prophethood of Yahia. The details of the Muslim and Mandaean stories differ enough to
suggest that they are not derived from a common source but they both they both make use
of the voice of authority from a competing religious tradition as a way to lend additional
credence to world altering prophethood of Muhammad and Yahia, respectively.
A similar pre-birth prediction of Yahias prophetic destiny is also recorded in the
Haran Gawaita,
And in the great Jordan a pure seed was formedand came and was sown in the
womb of Nibai, so that from it a child might come into being, a prophet of the
great Father of Glory.456

454

Guillaume, A, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishqs Sirat Rasl Allah (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1955), 12-13.
455
Guillaume, 13.
456
Drower HG, 5.

253

Statements alluding to the future prophethood of Yahia serve the purpose of establishing
Yahias identity as a prophet even before he was born. This removes any doubt from the
thought that Yahia tenure as a prophet is something that is associated with him from his
entire life. Yahia emerged from the womb already wearing the mantle of prophethood.
He is the epitome of a long term messenger.
In addition to marking Yahia as a prophet from conception Mandaean literature
also makes a point of demonstrating that Yahias prophetic duties lasted throughout his
life. Chapter thirty-one of the Book of John implicitly testifies to Yahias enduring role
as prophet by having the Lightworld give him instructions for balancing his husbandly
duties with his religious duties.457 The need to comfortably integrate the mundane and
religious aspects of his life suggests that Yahia will be beholden to both obligations
throughout his life and that he needs to learn how to accommodate his identity as a
prophet with the patterns of his daily routine. This in turn implies that Yahias call to
prophecy must be long term, otherwise there would be no need to adapt it to fit with
everyday life.
The other way that Mandaean literature insinuates that Yahias call lasted for his
entire life is through repeated references to his prophetic work. Almost every chapter in
the Book of John that mentions Yahia shows him in the act of warning, instructing, and
generally giving voice to the message of the Lightworld. This implies that acting as an
envoy for the Lightworld is an integral part of Yahias life. It is not something from
which his character can be separated. Fulfilling the office of prophethood was a
persistent and life-long commitment for Yahia. The characterization of Yahia in this way

457

JB 31:111, Lidzbarski, 110-111.

254

casts him as a figure who is an exemplar of a rasl. He always has, and always will
occupy the role of prophet for the Mandaean religious community.

Holy Book
The second way in which Mandaean literature seems to attempt to cast Yahia in
the role consistent with the characteristics that define an Islamic rasl is through Yahias
association with the transmission of a holy book. The theme of bringing a holy book
which becomes foundational for the religious community that receives it is an essential,
defining task of the rasl. Mandaean tradition connects Yahia with the discharging of
this rasl making task in a couple of different contexts.
The most straightforward presentation of the idea that Yahia received a holy book
that he was meant to share with the Mandaeans appears in chapter twenty-six of the Book
of John. This chapter tells a story in which a writing, known as the Letter of Kut
(Truth), is placed in the hands of Yahia,
They took the letter and laid it in the hands of Yhn [Yahia]. Take, Rab
Yhn, they said to him, the Letter of Kut, which is sent to you by your
Father (or Life). Yhn opened it and read it and saw in it a wondrous
document. He opened it, read in it and was filled with the Life. This is, he
said, what I want and this my soul wills.458
There is a wealth of information to be drawn out from this from this passage. Among the
important things conveyed by these lines is the fact that the Letter of Kut has claim to
divine origins. The divinity of the Letters provenance is indicated by its very name,
Kut carries with it a de facto association with the divine because, according to the
458

JB 26:91-92, Lidzbarski, 94.

255

precepts, of Mandaean theology kut is an entity or quality inherent to the Lightworld.

Anything that invokes kut necessary belongs to the Lightworld. And if this were not
enough the letters intrinsic connection to the Lightworld is made even more explicit by
the storys revelation that it was the Father of Life that decided to give the letter to Yahia.
The Father of Life is, of course, the ruler of the Lightworld and the primary divinity
within Mandaeism, so there can be no question that, as with all texts transmitted by rasl,
Yahias holy text also comes directly from the divine.
The second bit of important information gleaned from this passage (and those that
follow it) is that the letter is represents a substantive text that proves foundational for
Mandaeism. Yahia reads and embraces the text and finds within it a message the fills
him with the Life. In this context to be filled with the Life can be read as metaphoric
for receiving the wisdom of Mandaean religion. The purpose of Mandaeism is to
familiarize one with the truth of the First Life and the origins of the Mandaeans in the
Lightworld, so to be filled with the Life is to be filled with Mandaeism. In other words,
upon reading the letter Mandaean religion is known to Yahia. The Letter of Kut
therefore assumes the role of a text that makes it crucial to the establishment of
Mandaeism as a religion.
The perception of the letters foundational importance to Mandaean religion is
reinforced in the next passage in which Yahias is credited with reading the letter aloud to
a gathered audience of Mandaeans and then explaining the meaning of the letter to Yaqif,
Beni-Amin, and uml.459 It is a significant that these particular individuals should be
identified here as the ones with whom the contents of the letter, which seems to be a
metaphor for the wisdom of the Mandaean religion, are discussed because elsewhere in
459

JB 26:92, Lidzbarski, 94.

256

Mandaean literature Yaqif and Beni-Amin are credited with founding the Mandaean
priesthood.460 Since Yaqif and Beni-Amins involvement with start of the Mandaean
priesthood would likely have been known to the audience of chapter twenty-six it is
possible to link the traditions together and conclude or at least speculate that having
received instruction from the Letter of Kut these two figures were thus endowed with
the knowledge necessary to found the portion of Mandaean society responsible for the
religious education of the rest of the Mandaeans. If such a line of thought is followed it
offers another example of how the Letter of Kut, a text received and transmitted by
Yahia, proved essential to the foundation of the religion of the Mandaeans.
As a text which comes from the divine; is communicated through an identified
messenger of god; and serves as a source for the faithful to familiarize themselves with
their religious teachings the Letter of Kut demonstrates all the hallmarks commonly
associated with the holy book of a rasl. The details of the Mandaean story also seem to
suggest that, as a potential candidate for a Mandaean holy book, the Letter of Kut
appears to share certain salient traits with the Islamic umma al-kitab (motherbook).
Namely, the letter is a text from the divine realm which having been given to a prophet
and shared with the community becomes the basis for the foundation of the religious
order of the community. The imagery associated here with the Letter of Kut seems to
be in accordance with Islamic notions of the origins and purpose of the Quran. This
strengthens the argument that the Mandaeans may have been aware of or even courting
Muslim sensibilities.
There is ample reason to read chapter twenty-six as evidence of Mandaeism
attempt to depict Yahia in a way that carefully aligns him with Islamic traditions of rusul
460

JB 21:80-81, Lidzbarski, 85 and JB 22:84-85, Lidzbarski, 87-88.

257

and holy books. But should any doubt remain about the Letters status a holy text (or
Yahias involvement therewith as proof of his participation in the category of rusul) the
Mandaean story includes one additional detail that seems intent on cementing the
parallels between Mandaean and Islamic tradition. Chapter twenty-six explains that the
Jews were the first to receive Letter of Kut, They [the Lightworld-beings] took the
letter and laid it in the hands of the Jews but ultimately the Jews rejected the letter,
These [the Jews] opened it, read it and saw that it does not contain that which they wish,
that it does not contain what their souls desire, so the Jews discarded the letter and the
Lightworld-beings transferred possession of it to Yahia.461 It is interesting that in a story
which seems intent on casting Yahia as the bringer of a holy text that the Mandaeans
would suggest that the Jews also had a chance to take possession of the divine message
but chose not to do so. The Mandaean portrayal of the Jews as dismissive of the letter
from the Lightworld has the intriguing, perhaps even intentional, effect of calling to mind
Islams contention that Judaism is the product of failure to properly receive the word of
god. Muslims believe that, like the Jews in chapter twenty-six, the Jewish community
was once offered access to the divine message, vis--vis the prophethood of Moses, but
that through errors of transmission and translation the original, true message was
perverted.
As far as the Muslims are concerned the perversion of the message of god that
they feel occurred within Judaism is tantamount to a Jewish rejection of divine truth.
This means that with regard to their reaction to the message of the divine the Jews occupy
essentially the same position in Islamic tradition as they are understood to have by
Mandaean literature. Moreover the Mandaean story demonstrates after the Jews faltered
461

JB 26:91, Lidzbarski, 94.

258

in response to the divine message, Yahia, like Muhammad, emerges to ensure the
message is properly embraced. Yahia is thusly depicted as a rasl both in the sense that
he brings a holy book to the Mandaeans and that he assumes the same role as Muhammad
by taking up the task of transmitting the divine message, which was rejected by the Jews.
The narrative in chapter twenty-six of the Book of John seems to be a multivalent attempt
to appeal to the sensibilities of Islam.
In contrast to the story about the Letter of Kut which shows Yahia in the actual
act of acquiring and disseminating a holy book-like text, the other major way in which
Mandaeism appears to give Yahia the rasl function of being associated with a
foundational holy book occurs in connection with the existence of the Book of John in
general. Although only a minor portion of the Book of John actually centers on Yahia the
title of the book implies the entire text is under his provenance. This is notable because it
credits Yahia for the book on a level that extends beyond his mere appearance in its
contents. It suggests that Yahia bears a responsibility for the very existence of the book,
a fact corroborated by the Mandaeans contention that the Book of John is named for
Yahia out of respect for his role as the chief Mandaean prophet.462 Placing the Book of
John, a book that Mandaeism regards second only to the Ginza as a source of religious
information and authority, under the auspices of Yahia, especially because he is thought
of as the prophet of the Mandaean people, gives Yahia a relationship to a holy book that
is parallel to the positions Muslims assign to Moses with regard to the Hebrew Bible;
Jesus to the New Testament; and most importantly Muhammad to the Quran. According
to Muslim belief all three of these men were responsible for accumulating the message
that served to formulate the holy books of their respective traditions. By likewise
462

Buckley (2004), 13.

259

assigning the origins of the Book of John to Yahia the Mandaeans put Yahia on par with
the other major rusul recognized by Islam.
The notion that the naming of the Book of John after Yahia is meant to invoke a
prophet-holy book connection consistent with the image of a rasl finds additional
support in the observation by both Buckley and Lidzbarski that endowment of this
particular title may have been a direct response to Mandaeisms contact with Islam. At
some point the Book of John book was also known as the Draia d-Malkia (The
Teachings of the Kings) but Buckley thinks that it may have been purposely renamed the
Book of John to honor John the Baptist in order to impress Muslims.463 Lidzbarski
likewise thinks the name the Book of John was crafted, at least in part, to give the
impression that Mandaeism is a tradition in possession of a holy book comparable to that
of Islam, as well as Judaism and Christianity. He also sees the influence of Islam,
especially Islamic questions about who one claims as a prophet and to which book one
owes their loyalty, as instrumental to the Mandaean decision to associate the text of the
Book of John with Yahia.464 Buckley and Lidzbarskis belief that the need to respond to
Islam factored into naming the Book of John after Yahia indicates that the Mandaeans
may have specifically employed rasl inspired images of Yahia for the express purpose
of appealing to the expectations Islam used to assess the veracity of other religions.

Lawgiver

463
464

Buckley (2004), 13.

JB introduction, Lidzbarski, v-vi.

260

The third distinguishing function of a rasl, which likewise appears in Mandaean

depictions of Yahia, is that of acting as a lawgiver for the religious community with
which a given prophet is involved. In this context the role of lawgiver is not strictly
limited to the legal realm but might instead be better described as establishing the
guidelines for the praxis of the religion. The association of Moses with the
commandments is perhaps the most iconic of the images of a rasl fulfilling the task of
lawgiver, but insofar as a prophet provides the community with a list of behaviors or a
description of practices that ought to be taken as strictures of behavior for by devout
members of the religious community all rusul assume the role of lawgiver as part of their
call to prophecy.
For Yahia the broadly defined establishment of the praxis side of the lawgiver
role takes form in the many chapters of the Book of John in which Yahia imparts the
wisdom of the Lightworld. These texts routinely depict Yahia in the act of responding to
questions about religion or religious authority by giving advice or setting down
guidelines for a proper Mandaean life. Often Yahias pronouncements tend toward the
prohibitory, listing behaviors the will incur punishment in the realm of Darkness, but
occasionally he adopts a more explicitly lawgiver persona and sets forth a specific series
behaviors that form the basis for praxis essential to Mandaeism.
One instance of Yahia conducting himself with this sort of rule giving purpose
occurs, albeit somewhat peripherally, while he is trying to educate Jesus about the fate of
the soul after death. As part of his explanation of what the soul experiences when the
body dies Yahia detours into a description of the process that accompanies burial.
According to Yahia, immediately after death, before the burial takes place, men and

261

women engaged in a ritualized mourning in which they run to and fro weeping and
wailing as long as the body lay before them.465 Once the soul leaves the body the next
step, according to Yahia, is for four mourners to take the body to the graveyard, lower it
into the grave and cover it. Yahia explains that at this point the women are supposed to
stop their death wail. The body is then buried completely and the funeral feast begins.466
In another chapter Yahia augments his teaching about funerary practice with the
additional information that upon burial the corpse should not be placed in a box but
should simply be placed in the ground, the death mass should be read and preparations
made for the lofani (ritual meal for the dead).467 Although the instructions given by
Yahia in both these chapters represent a significantly elided version of what should
happen during a Mandaean funeral they do touch upon the central practices, such as
burial in a shroud rather than a coffin and the need for the death mass as well as the ritual
funerary feast that forms the basis for Mandaeisms official ritual response to death. In
addition to the basics Yahias instructions also include certain details, like the
accompaniment of the body by four mourners, which correspond to the actual funerary
practices of the Mandaeans.468 The continuity between Yahias descriptions and the
elements found in the real performance of Mandaean funerals demonstrates that in these
texts Yahia is being shown to dispense instructions that can, at least theoretically, serve
as guidelines for conducting a proper Mandaean funeral.

465

JB 33:125, Lidzbarski, 121. This contradicts the official admonish for silence in the face of death that
Drower reports is the position of the modern Mandaean community, but it should be noted that even though
Mandaean funerary practices supposedly insist on silence Drower herself observed that wailing and other
overt displays of mourning occurred among the Mandaeans she encountered, see Drower (1937), 178-203.
466
JB 33:125-126, Lidzbarski, 121-122.
467
JB 31:115-116, Lidzbarski, 114. These instructions occur in the context of Yahia telling his wife what
she should do in the event of his death.
468
Drower (1937), 179-180.

262

The connection of Yahia with rules for the correct performance of funerary rites
holds particular significance for the perception of him as a rasl figure charged with
establishing key religious praxis because death and the rituals associated with it seem to
hold an important, if under-examined, place within Mandaean theology. The entirety of
the Left Ginza, the otherand apparently older469side of the central religious text of
Mandaeism, focuses on the fate of the soul after death. The Thousand and Twelve
Questions, Mandaeisms vast text of ritual commentaries, also devotes considerable, if
not predominant, attention to outlining how to fix errors that occur during burial rites.470
This literary preoccupation with death and the proper enactment of the rituals associated
with it gives the impression that this topic holds a place of particular importance within
the praxis of Mandaean religion. Consequently the Mandaean stories that show Yahia
spelling out the processes involved with burial have the effect of casting him as a giver of
rules central to the governing of religious behavior. By functioning in this capacity
Yahia effectively assumes the lawgiver responsibility associated with rusul.
Another example of Yahia acting as a rule giver that is in accordance with the
model of the rusul appears in chapter twenty-nine in the Book of John. In an exchange
that is particularly interesting from the perspective of Islams potential influence on
Mandaeism Yahia is shown giving a detailed overview on the subject of giving alms.
Regarding the Mandaeans religious obligation to perform charity Yahia says,
Give almswages and alms will invite the Way, like the hand that reaches the
mouth [prayer]. Wages and alms will invite the Way, like an oppressor that seeks
a rescuer. Anyone not giving alms, for them there is no bridge over the river.

469
470

For the dating of the GL see Buckley (2005), 11.

See Drower, AT, 195-230.

263

Anyone not giving alms, for them there is no passage on the sea. Anyone not
giving alms will not sit before the eyes of Abathur. Woe to the evil ones and the
liars, who forget alms and have not given them.471
Yahias disquisition on the benefits that accrue to those who give alms as well as the
perils that await anyone who neglects this duty outlines a twofold argument for regarding
almsgiving as a necessary part of the religious praxis of Mandaeism. The importance
accord to the giving of alms in the context of this passage elevates it to the status of one
of the tenets of Mandaean religion, and since it is Yahia who gives voice to the
understanding of almsgiving, an activity recognized as essential to the proper practice of
Mandaeism, it can be observed that Yahia is acting here in the capacity of a lawgiving
rasl.
In addition to once again alluding to a rasl inspired nature for Yahia this passage
on almsgiving lends itself to subject of Islamic-Mandaean parallels because identifying
almsgiving as a central facet of Mandaean practice allocates almsgiving a standing within
Mandaeism comparable to that which it enjoys in Islam. As mentioned earlier,
almsgiving, or zakat, is one of the five pillars of Islam which means it ranks among
special set of responsibilities that devout Muslims must perform in order to ensure their
good standing within the religion. Both the Muslims and the Mandaeans categorize the
practice of almsgiving as essential to the religious well being of their respective
practioners. This similarity is taken a step further when one considers that in his
description of the need to give alms Yahia insists that the act of giving alms has the same
power to achieve the Way as that of prayer. This comparison hardly seems
coincidental given that in Islam prayer (salat) ranks with almsgiving as one of the five
471

JB 29:102, Lidzbarski, 102.

264

pillars that help Muslims along the path of Islam.472 Mandaean perceptions about the
relationship between almsgiving and prayer appear to mirror Islamic thinking about the
same concepts.
Also seemingly taking its cues from Islamic precedent it is the equation Yahia
makes between the giving of alms and the assessment one receives during the final
judgment. According to Yahia, those who did not give alms will not sit before Abathur,
meaning they will not be eligible for judgment, a fate indicative of already having been
declared summarily unworthy of entry in to the Lightworld. This understanding of the
involvement of almsgiving with final judgment echoes Islamic teachings that indicate
that a record of the charity one has given will be consulted when determining the fate of
the dead. Explaining the popular practice of the Shi`i Muslims, the type of Islam that
predominates in the region of the Mandaeans, Moojan Momen observes, Life for a
devout Shi`i is perceived very much as having an account with God. This account is
credited and debited during ones life. At death, for those with a sufficiently large
positive balance in their account there is heaven; for those with a large negative balance
there is hell.473 The way that one accrues either credit or debit is through the
performance of five categories of action that range from obligatory (wajib) to forbidden
(haram). Doing obligatory acts earns credit (conversely not doing them results in debit),
whereas engaging in forbidden acts debits ones account. Almsgiving, because it is
reckoned as one of the five obligatory acts of Islamic practice, is counted among the acts

472

Almsgiving seems to be the only one of the five pillars of Islam that Yahia addresses directly, this may
be because the belief in the divine and prayer, two of the other pillars, were implicit in Mandaean devotion
and did not need to be reiterated. Conversely the remaining two pillars: fasting for the month of Ramadan
and the pilgrimage to Mecca are too specific to Islam, with no immediate Mandaean parallel to be
addressed by Yahia.
473
Moojan Momen, An Introduction to Shi`i Islam (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985), 233.

265

that open the way to heaven. Both of these parallels, almsgiving and final judgment as
well as almsgiving and prayer suggest that the entire topic of almsgiving within
Mandaeism, including the rasl image of Yahia which emerges in connection with, is
linked to Islam and possibly bears the imprint of Islamic influence.
The final example of Mandaean literature depicting Yahia in a manner consistent
with the Islamic image of a rasl functioning as a lawgiver is found in Mandaeisms
other major religious text, the Ginza. In contrast to the allusions to Yahias rule giving
prowess examined thus far book seven of the Right Ginza sets forth a straightforward
image of Yahia passing along the guidelines that form the basis for Mandaean religious
belief. The introduction to book seven identifies the text as a compendium of the
wisdom and teachings of Yahia which are known to all true and believing
Nasoraeans.474 The book begins with a list of traits: belief, wisdom, understanding,
learning, prayer, praise, almsgiving, etc, that a true Mandaean embraces and embodies.475
Afterwards there follows a series of statements about the nature of the First (the First
Life) usually combined with instructions directing the behavior of a true Mandaean,
The First is your truth: do not corrupt your word and love lies and deceit
The First is your teaching: learn and understand the word of your Lord.
The First is your prayer and praise: do not love sleep
The First is your piety and good: give alms and water to the hungry and
thirsty476

474

GR 7, Lidzbarski, 213:12-13. The arrangement of the GR differs from book to book. GR 7 has no
chapters so citations from this book are distinguished by Lidzbarskis page and line numbers.
475
GR 7, Lidzbarski, 213:24-30.
476
GR 7, Lidzbarski, 214:1-15.

266

Statements of this type continue for at least thirty more lines, commenting throughout on
a variety of beliefs that form the basis for Mandaean theology and dispensing advice for
how to best conform to the expectations of Mandaeism. Once these statements end the
book then provides similarly structured statements praising the benefits of exhibiting the
good qualities associated with the First Life, The one proven in prayer and praising is
like a businessman who doubles and redoubles thousands of winnings.477 After many
statements of this nature the book then adopts the opposite perspective and lists the
negative qualities associated with the Darkness, what ought to be done to avoid engaging
in blasphemous behavior, and what happens to those who follow the wrong path.478 The
overall effect of the entire book is to create a comprehensive set of guidelines for the
teachings and praxes that govern the whole system of Mandaean religion.
Book seven makes a point of attributing this entire collection of teachings to
Yahia both at the beginning and then again at the close of the book, this is the speech
about the wisdom that Yahia, the son of Zakhri, in Jerusalem, in the state of the Jews,
taught and revealed.479 The emphasis on Yahias role in transmitting the guidelines laid
out in book seven may be evidence of an active attempt to depict Yahia in a manner
befitting a rasl. Lists of similar teachings exist elsewhere in the Right Ginza but they
are conspicuously not accredited to Yahia, in fact he does not even appear anywhere in
connection to these other texts. 480 The absence of Yahia from these texts coupled with
the reiterated attachment of Yahia to the list of teachings in book seven seems to suggest
that Yahia was not always equated with the foundational wisdom of Mandaeism but that
477

GR 7, Lidzbarski, 215:25-26.
GR 7, Lidzbarski, 216-219.
479
GR 7, Lidzbarski, 219:33-35.
480
See GR 2:1, Lidzbarski, 31-54 (here the list is actually numbered in the text itself); and GR 3,
Lidzbarski, 68-70.
478

267

a conscious effort was undertaken in book seven to establish Yahias association with this
material and emphasize the image of him as the disseminator of the essential part of
Mandaean religious knowledge. Considering that most scholars date the composition of
book seven to the Islamic period, due in part to the fact that the spelling of Yahias name
follows the Arabic form, there is reason to believe that Yahia may have been inserted
here into what were previously independent traditions about Mandaean morality and
teachings. The appearance of Yahia in this context might be seen as evidence of an
active attempt on the part of the Mandaeans to cultivate an image of Yahia as a lawgiver
cum founder of a religious system so as to appeal to Islamic conceptions of the rasl.
Messenger, bringer of a holy book, and lawgiver, the three functions that make a
prophet a rasl according to Islam are also discernable in Mandaean depictions of Yahia.
As with the seven general characteristics of prophethood, Yahias adherence to the
Islamic criteria for a rasl should not be dismissed as mere coincidence. Mandaeism
potentially has much to gain from being able to produce a figure from within their
tradition who mirrors Islamic expectations for a rasl. In the period while Islam was
expanding and deciding how it would engage with other religions it was in Mandaeisms
best interest to appear as innocuous as possible. If Yahia could be thought of as a rasl
then Mandaeism can establish itself as a religion with the same components as Islam, or
failing that, at least as a religion on a level comparable to that of Judaism and
Christianity. Achieving the status of a religion with a clear rasl tradition could have
been seen as a way for Mandaeism to insulate itself from the threat of persecution during
the period when Islam rose to power and questions of religious identity and potential
alliances were still to be decided.

268

Yahia and Muhammad: Two of a Kind

So far the evidence suggests that the construction of the image of Yahia as a
prophet may be a calculated, simultaneous, and interconnected appeal to Islam from a
variety of dimensions. The arguably Islamically oriented depictions begin with the
appearance of Yahias conformity to the list of characteristics Islam deems definitional
for prophethood. This sets the stage for a general similarity between the two traditions on
the theme of prophethood. Added to this initial image is a more specialized portrayal of
Yahia that credits him with fulfilling all the functions of a rasl. This nudges the
Mandaean texts towards an understanding of Yahias position within their community
that is even more explicitly parallel to Islamic standards. But perhaps the most forthright
attempt to show Yahia occupying a role that conforms to Islamic sensibilities occurs in
the form of images that assign to Yahia a biography that shares certain salient details with
the hagiographies of Muhammad. The hagiographical similarities shared by these two
figures create an intersection between the characters of Yahia and Muhammad which
effectively encourages the association of one with the other.
The overlap found in the stories about the lives of Yahia and Muhammad begins,
appropriately enough, with records of omens that preceded the births of both character
and which combined predictions of their prophetic greatness with warnings about the
attendant destruction their presence would bring to the current ruling order. According to
a well received hagiography of Muhammad written by the eighth century Islamic scholar
Ibn Ishq (702-768) the pre-Islamic king of southern Arabia, Raba ibn Nasr, had a
frightful dream one night that he could not understand. Consultation with two separate

269

dream interpreters determined that the kings nightmare foretold downfall of the existing
kingdom and the rise of an Arab prophet. The hagiography then reports that in the time
period soon after the dream an Abyssinian general known as Abraha tried to destroy
Mecca but his efforts to overthrow the holy city failed and he fell from power due in part
to the obstinacy of an elephant named Muhammad.481 The date of this unsuccessful
attack on Mecca is 570 C.E., known as the Year of the Elephant in honor of Meccas
animal protector. Notably this is also the date Muslims traditionally recognized as the
year of Muhammads birth. The pairing of the information about a historical battle which
occurs during the year when the Prophet is traditionally thought to have been born,
complete with a legendary account of a heroic savior elephant known Muhammad, with
the tale of Raba ibn Nasrs dream gives the impression that all these events are
interrelated. Abrahas failure and the subsequent ousting of the Abyssinians from power
correlated with the birth of Muhammad, an Arab prophet, just like the Kings dream
predicted.
Elements of Ibn Ishqs story about the circumstances leading up to the birth of
Muhammad are echoed in Mandaean accounts of the prediction that heralded Yahias
coming. As with Muhammad, the news of Yahias impending arrival comes in the form
of a disquieting and initially inscrutable dream. Chapter eighteen of the Book of John
reveals that an unnamed rabbi had a dream in which stars appear around Enishbai and
Zakria, a fire consumes the temple, the earth quakes, then a star settles in Jerusalem and
the sun shines at night while the moon appears during the day.482 After much struggle the
great dream interpreter Lilyukh explains to the other rabbis that the dream announces the
481

A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishqs Sirat Rasl Allah (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1955), 73.
482
JB 18:67, Lidzbarski, 75-76.

270

coming of Yahia, a prophet whose teachings will cause great woe to the Jewish priests.483
The portends of fire in the temple, earthquakes, and the inversion of night and day create
an environment of upheaval comparable to the overthrow of the rule power envisioned in
Raba ibn Nasrs dream. These visions are also consistent with the Mandaean tradition
that maintains the teachings of Yahia were a necessary correction on the religious
corruptions of Judaism and that his coming (like that of Miriai in later chapters of the
Book of John) radically disrupted and reordered the Jewish community. In this respect
Yahia is seen as the vanquisher of Jewish power and the dream of the rabbi is meant to
predict the coming of this fate in concert with Yahias birth.
On a general level the Islamic and Mandaean traditions are telling different
versions of the same story. The trope of an ominous dream allows their respective
literature to portray the religious paradigm shift that accompanies the prophethood of
Muhammad and Yahia as the playing out of a predestined fate. It seems likely that
aspects of the Mandaean story would resonate with Muslims as consistent with their own
traditions about Muhammad. Recognition of such parallels could also have the effect of
suggesting to the Muslims that Mandaeism, especially with regard to traditions
concerning their central prophet, follows a line of belief not unlike Islam.
The perception that the Mandaeans and Muslims might be drawing from a
common tradition when speaking about the lives of Muhammad and Yahia emerges again
in the context of the account of a mystical journey through the heavens which the
literature of Islam and Mandaeism tell about Muhammad and Yahia, respectively.
Within Islam this story is often referred to as Muhammads night journey. It has roots in
Surah seventeen but is recorded most fully in various hagiographies, including the one
483

JB 18:68-69, Lidzbarski, 76-77.

271

written by Ibn Ishq. Mandaeism does not give a specific name to its version of the
ascension story but it does make repeated appearances at various points throughout their
literature, including one tractate called the Diwan Abatur which is wholly devoted to
describing (even picturing) the realms encountered while advancing to the Lightworld.484
However the Mandaean account of a mystical journey to heaven that is of greatest
interest here, and which is notably the only version of the story within Mandaeism in
which Yahia appears, is found in Right Ginza book five section four. A comparison of
Ibn Ishqs account of Muhammads night journey and the story of Yahia contained in
GR 5.4 reveals a series of major plot points around which both narratives coalesce.
The first interesting instance of correspondence between the Islamic and
Mandaean stories comes in the form of the involvement of a divine figure as the
instigator, or facilitator, of the mystical journey. In the case of Muhammad, the journey
is made possible under the auspices of the angel Jibril. Jibril appears to Muhammad and
magically transports him from Mecca to Jerusalem and then accompanies him as he
progresses up the mystical ladder that leads through heaven.485 On the Mandaean side it
is the Lightworld being Manda d Hiia who comes to Yahia and guides him through the
intermediary worlds that separate Tibil (earth) from the Lightworld.486
In addition to divine guides Muhammad and Yahia also share the challenge of
passing a religious test before their ascent to the heavens begins. Standing in the
company of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets, Muhammad is given a choice

484

See Drower, Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories, Studi e Testi 176 (Vatican City:
Bibliteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1953).
485
Guillaume, 182-187.
486
GR 5.4, Lidzbarski, 190-196.

272

between two or three487 drinking vessels filled with wine and milk; just milk; or just
wine. When Muhammad selects the vessel containing only milk, Jibril congratulates him
for being rightly guided to the fitra and making a choice that will benefit the long term
well being of the Muslim community.488 For Yahia the test is administered by Manda d
Hiia who first appears to Yahia in the disguise of a young boy asking to receive baptism.
The disguised Manda d Hiia quizzes Yahia on his baptismal practices, What is the
baptism like, with which you baptize? and Which name do you speak over them, at the
baptism that you baptize?489 Yahia correctly responds that he baptizes in the name of
the Life. This combined with his attempt to baptize Manda d Hiia, who is still disguised
as a little boy, despite conditions that threaten to kill Yahia impresses the Lightworldbeing so much that he reveals his true self and confers his blessing on Yahia. This is a
sign that Yahia, like Muhammad in his choice of the milk, has shown theological
knowledge and resolve, which is a benefit for the whole of the Mandaean community.
For both men passing these tests of faith also seems to the event that opens the
path for their journey to heaven and as with the events leading up to their ascents
Muhammad and Yahias paths to the realm of the ultimate divine are again marked by
interesting similarities.
In the course of his ascent, Muhammad passes through seven heavens, each of
which is overseen by a series of figures identifiable as bastions of monotheism prior to
the institution of Islam. Ibn Ishqs account of Muhammads ascension relates that along
his way Muhammad first encounters Ismail and Adam, then in the second heaven he
meets Jesus and John, from there it is Joseph, Idris (biblical Enoch), Aaron (the brother of
487

The tradition varies with regard to the number.

Guillaume, 182-183.
489
GR 5.4:190-191, Lidzbarski, 192.
488

273

Moses), Moses and finally in seventh heaven, Abraham.490 Yahias journey likewise
takes him through an ascending set of watch-houses wherein the keepers of the
purgatorial worlds intermediating between Tibil (Earth) and the Lightworld stand guard.
In each of the successive watch-houses Yahia comes into the presence of beings initially
associated with the shaping of the Mandaean cosmos and now responsible for ruling the
realms found along the celestial path to the divine. In the first world Yahia finds Ptahil,
the `uthra credited with the creation of Tibil and humanity, holding court.491 Travel to
the second world brings Yahia in contact with Abatur, the father of Ptahil, as well as the
father of all the `utria (Abatur literally means father of the `utria). Abatur, who is also
known as the Third Life, meaning the third in the divine line after the supreme Mandaean
deity the Life, is likewise instrumental in the creation of humanity, inspiring Ptahil to
take on both tasks and then providing Ptahil with the necessary material from the
Lightworld to ensure that his creative efforts are successful.492 In the next few watchhouses Yahia meets the Lightworld beings In-Hai (Lifesource), Sum-Hai (Lifes Name),
Ziw-Hai (Lifes Shining or Brilliance) and Nhr-Hai (Lifes Light), figures whose names
suggest intimate ties to Mandaeisms primary deity, Hiia, Life.493
That the figures encountered by Muhammad and Yahia are distinctive to their
respective religious traditions and do not demonstrate an initial sense of overlap is
mitigated by the fact that in both narratives the individuals met in the various worlds
between heaven and earth offer something of a symbolic passage leading to a fuller

490

Guillaume, 184-187.
GR 5.4:194, Lidzbarski, 194-195. For the story of Ptahils creation of Tibil and humanity see GR 3: 98103, Lidzbarski, 103-111 and GR 15.13: 336-340, Lidzbarski, 348-353.
492
GR 5.4: 194-195, Lidzbarski, 195-196. Also see again GR 3: 98-103, Lidzbarski, 103-111 and GR
15.13: 336-340, Lidzbarski, 348-353.
493
GR 5.4: 195-196, Lidzbarski, 196.
491

274

understanding of Islam or Mandaeism. To become familiar with the great earlier

proponents of monotheism as Muhammad does, or to come to know the `utria at the core
of Mandaean belief like Yahia, is to gain the ultimate insight into Muslim or Mandaean
religious traditions, respectively. In both stories there is a sense in which the ascent
through the mediating worlds signifies a process of religious education for Muhammad
and Yahia which culminates with their ability to reach the highest level of erudition
where they are rewarded with an audience with the divine. So even though their paths
are populated by individuals unique to their own tradition the purpose and final outcome
of these interactions are congruent for Muhammad and Yahia.
Another detail from the accounts of Muhammad and Yahias ascent that seems to
further suggest an overlap between their stories is that in the initial stages of their journey
both men cross paths with the individuals that each of their religious traditions identifies
as the parties responsible for judging the souls of the dead. For Muhammad this meeting
comes soon after he is introduced to Ismail, while he is still exploring the first heaven.
Ibn Ishaq says that according to Ab Sad al Khudr Muhammad reports the following
about encountering the judge of the dead,
When I entered the lowest heaven I saw a man sitting there with the spirits of
men passing before him. To one he would speak well and rejoice in him saying
A good spirit from a good body and of another he would say Faugh! and frown
saying: An evil spirit from an evil body.494

494

Guillaume, 185.

275

Muhammad does not immediately recognize the man in question but the angel Jibril
quickly explains to him that the man is our father Adam and that it is his task to review
the spirits of his offspring and distinguish the faithful from the infidels.495
A parallel scene of sorts plays out in the second watch-house of Yahias journey
where he meets Abatur. Details are sparse in GR 5.4 so there is no specific reference to
Abaturs adjudicating duties in this narrative but it is a well known fact throughout
Mandaean tradition that Abaturs primary responsibility is to arbitrate over the fate of
each person at the time of their death. The Diwan Abatur, which gives a much more
detailed account of the realms between heaven and earth and which notably is named for
Abatur, explicitly describes Abaturs role as the judge of humanity,
Then Hibil Ziwa went and said to Abatur, Arise! Set up thy throne in the House
of Boundaries and take over sovereignty. And sublimate that which is sound
(good) from that which is base when Mans measure is full and he cometh and is
baptized in the Jordan, is weighed in thy scales, is sealed with thy seal and riseth
up and dwellth in thy world. Then Abatur spoke and saith to Hibil Ziwa, This
ye have arranged for me, (that I was obliged to leave) my land that is lofty and my
spouses who are worthy and suitable, and ye brought me and made me He-ofthe-Scales.496
Similarly no less than seven of the prayers in the Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans
make reference to Abatur of the scales, a phrase alluding to Abaturs identity as the
figure who weighs the souls of all humanity against the pure soul of Sitil in order to

495
496

Guillaume, 185.
Drower, Diwan Abatur, 2-3. Emphasis in the original.

276

decide who is allowed to enter the Lightworld.497 In light of prevailing image of Abatur
as the judge of the dead it seems reasonable to associate his appearance in GR 5.4 with
his adjudicating role even if the text does not directly identify him as such.
Consequently, like Muhammad with Adam, one of the first figures Yahia encounters
during his ascent is the individual assigned to determine the fate of the souls of the dead.
The final instance of comparable plot points in the Muslim and Mandaean
ascension narratives that merits consideration is that of what happens to Muhammad and
Yahia when they eventually reach the divine realm. The culmination of their journeys is
marked by exchanges that seem to be intent on codifying the devotional praxes which
serve as the defining aspects of their respective religious traditions. The closing sequence
of the stories of Muhammad and Yahia overlap by making the end of their ascension into
an opportunity for Muhammad and Yahia to explicate and institute the ritual behaviors
perhaps most associated with Islam on one hand and Mandaeism on the other.
In the Islamic context the practice in question is that of the five daily prayers.
The story of Muhammads ascension concludes with Muhammad gaining Allahs
audience in seventh heaven at which point the duty of fifty daily prayers was laid upon
him [Muhammad].498 On his way back down through the heavens Muhammad
reencounters Moses who asks him about his assigned prayers and upon learning they are
fifty in number Moses advises Muhammad, Prayer is a weighty matter and your people
are weak, so go back to your Lord and ask him to reduce the number for you and your
community.499 Muhammad follows this advice, returns to Allah and gets the prayers

497

See Drower CP, 54, 56, 106, 133, 156, 296, and 302.
Guillaume, 186.
499
Guillaume, 186.
498

277

reduced by ten but when he sees Moses again Moses insists this is not enough and so the
scene repeats itself until only five prayers for the whole day and night were left.500
The events recounted in this part of the story seem to set up an etiology for the
existence of five daily prayers in Islam. It validates this practice first and foremost by
establishing that the requirement to pray comes from God. Secondly it refutes any notion
that the number of prayers might be arbitrarily assigned both by identifying Allah as the
determining source of the number and by showing that considerable thought and revision
went into the setting of the number of prayers. Finally crediting Moses, an individual
intimately familiar with the perils of introducing to his people duties from God that
proved more than they could bear, with the part of advocating for moderation might be
read as effort to prove that the institution of five daily prayers does constitute a
reasonable devotional expectation upon the followers of Islam. The conclusion of
Muhammads ascension story lends credibility to the five daily prayers as God given,
thoughtful and reasonable religious duty, effectively legitimizing its status as a defining
religious practice of Islam.
In the case of Mandaeism the connection between the final stage of Yahias
ascension and the establishment of proper Mandaean ritual practice is made in the closing
passage of the narrative. Upon reaching the Lightworld Yahia thanks all the `Utria that
helped him to his point and announces that all good Mandaeans should follow his
example and ascend signed with the sign of the Life and baptized in the name of the
First Life.501 By advising his fellow Mandaeans to be signed and baptized in the name
of the Life and then crediting these qualities with facilitating his journey through the

500
501

Guillaume, 187.
GR 5.4: 196, Lidzbarski, 196.

278

Lightworld, Yahia is highlighting the specifics of what makes the Mandaean form of
baptism uniquely efficacious, as well as proving that proper adherence to Mandaean
ritual does in fact result in the desired return to the Lightworld.
Yahias statement testifies to the legitimacy of the baptismal practice that offers a
major point of distinction between Mandaeism and other religions. One of the ways that
Mandaeism routinely sets itself apart from Christianity in particular is to highlight what
the Mandaeans regard as the utter perversion of Christian baptism.
He [Jesus] baptizes them in cut water. He perverts the baptism of Life and
baptizes them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He alienates
them from the baptism of Life in the Jordan, with which you, Adam, were
baptized.502
The folly of Christianity is its insistence on performing baptisms that do not use running
water503 and baptizing in names other than that of the Life. Mandaeans believe these
elements of Christian baptism represent a perversion of the ritual as it was established by
the Life. The decision of the Christian to omit the running water and recitation of the
name of the Life means that they have removed from the ritual everything that the
Mandaeans believe makes it meaningful in the first place. By impugning Christianitys
claim to true religiosity on the basis of its manner of baptism Mandaeism singles out the
specificities of baptismal practice as defining measure of a religion. So when Yahia ends
the story of his ascent by prescribe the manner in which future Mandaeans should be
baptized in order to follow him he is laying, or more accurately reiterating, the

502

GR 2.1:150, Lidzbarski, 43.

Mandaean baptisms must take place in running water, ideally a river,that has not been removed (cut-off)
from its source. As soon as water is removed from its source it dies, losing the essence of the Lightworld
that makes it efficacious and appropriate for baptism.

503

279

framework for the proper institution of the ritual behavior that is understood to define
Mandaeism. Just as Muhammads story concludes with an affirmation of the ritual
necessity of praying five times daily, the closing lines of the Mandaean narrative depict
Yahia confirming the standard of Mandaean baptism. In the end both stories coalesce
around the imagery of their respective heroes passing along the correct method for
conducting the divinely sanctioned and tradition defining ritual of their religions.
Stories about heavenly journeys are not unique to either Mandaeism or Islam and
yet the parallels observable in the Mandaean and Muslim tales, especially with regard to
specific details like the concluding of the narrative with instructions for the performance
of the defining ritual of their respective religions, does suggest the possibility of cross
tradition influence that goes beyond the simple existence of independent expressions of a
more broadly shared cultural trope. At the very least is seems likely that a Mandaean or
Muslim encountering the ascension story of the other would recognize a significant
congruency with their own tradition. They would be able to say aha, yes, our prophet
also had such an experience. The Mandaean story about Yahias journey thus becomes
another way in which Mandaeism has an opportunity to present Yahia as the Mandaean
equivalent of Muhammad. In this instance, as in so many others, Yahia can be seen as
behaving in a way that conforms not just to Muslim expectations about prophethood but
to the nature of the Prophet (Muhammad) himself.

Yahia: the Mandaean Rasl

Throughout his appearances in Mandaean literature there seems to be a consistent
effort to portray Yahia in a manner that corresponds with the characteristics and imagery

280

Islam associates with prophethood. Beginning with the list of traitsproper lineage;
divine guidance; chosen but human; polarizing; dual functions; idealized believer; worthy
of reverencegenerally used within Islam to define the nature of a prophet, moving to
the more specific qualities that identify a rasl: messenger; book bringer; and law giver,
and finally culminating in biographical details associated with Muhammad, the ultimate
representation of prophethood, himself the depictions of Yahia in Mandaean literature
build a compelling portrait of Yahia as the Mandaean manifestation of the prophetic ideal
of Islam. However else the Mandaeans might have understood Yahia and his position
within Mandaeism it seems that at least one of the ways in which he could be regarded
was as a Mandaean prophet in the mold corresponding to that which was ultimately
adopted by the Muslims.
But why depict Yahia in this way? Why cast him in accordance with the Muslim
notions of prophethood? The answer is, I think, that the Mandaean stories about Yahia
offer a glimpse of the impact exposure to Islam may have had on Mandaeism. In the
narratives about Yahia and specifically in the aspects of those tales which seem intent on
showing Yahia as a paradigm of prophethood we may be seeing reflections of Mandaean
efforts to find common ground with Islam. Having encountered the competing belief
system of Islam which potentially may have been both theologically and existentially
challenging for the Mandaeans, the stories about Yahia, much like those about Miriai,
offer a chance to image, maybe even re-imagine, Mandaeism in ways that take into
account Islamic standards for what constitutes an acceptable religious tradition. To
answer the long running question about Yahias role within Mandaeism we may say that
one of his functions may have been to appear as a Mandaean rasl in order to facilitate a

281

religious identity for the Mandaeans that would have perceived favorably by their
Muslim neighbors.

282

Chapter 8
Conclusion
Who are the Mandaeans and why should we care? These are the unavoidable
questions of Mandaean studies. They were with us at the outset of this project and now it
is with a return to the dual issues of Mandaean identity and relevance that this project will
conclude.

Identity
The decision to conduct a comparative study of Mandaeism and Islam was
motivated largely by lingering concerns about the prevailing perceptions of Mandaean
religious identity. Religiously speaking, who are the Mandaeans? I suspect there will
never be a satisfactory answer to this question. There is too much yet to learn and too
much that is ultimately unlearnable, neither of which is necessarily a bad thing. The
intractability of the answer should not, however, keeping us from asking the question.
This project proves that adding a consideration of Islam to the mix of factors used to help
delineate the contours of Mandaeism results in a more nuanced picture of the constructs
of Mandaean religious identity.
The process of peeling back the onionskin of Mandaean identity begins even
before the actual comparison of Mandaeism and Islam can be undertaken. While making
the argument that there is both reason and merit behind combining aspects of Mandaean
studies and Islamic studies important defining characteristics of the nature of Mandaean
religion become apparent. For example we learn that Mandaeism was an active, and at
times significant, participant in the vibrant religious world of late antiquity. Mandaean
283

religion commanded a presence that caused it to be targeted for eradication, along with
the now better known religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism, by the
Zoroastrian priest, Kirdir. Similarly, the Manichaeans accorded the Mandaeans the status
of a religious tradition from which it was appropriate to borrow from when composing
the Manichaean Psalms of Thomas. The existence of Mandaic prayer bowls also
suggests that the Mandaeans were a part of the multicultural exchange that helped define
popular religiosity throughout the late ancient world. All of these traits result in an image
of Mandaean religion as vital, independent, but interconnected religious tradition that
succeeded in measurably contributing to the religious milieu of late antiquity.
More layers in the complex of Mandaean religious identity come into focus in the
course of examining the development of the body of Mandaean religious literature in
relationship to that of Muslim literature. The formation or reformation of Mandaean
literature highlighted in chapter three of this project testifies to the dynamic nature of
Mandaeism as a religion. As can be seen both in the formatting and content of Mandaean
religious texts, Mandaean religion possesses the ability to adapt to changing
circumstances. This trait is hardly unique to Mandaeism. Any religion that has been able
to sustain itself for any length of time arguably must be capable of adaptation.
Nevertheless being able to observe this ability for change in the context of Mandaean
literature offers an important insight into the overall structure and nature of Mandaean
religion. Comparison with Islam, and the development of the religious literature of
Islam, makes it possible to discern how the Mandaeans make use of their literature to
facilitate change. We are thus aware that Mandaean religion is a dynamic tradition and
that its adaptability is linked to its religious literature.

284

The notion that there are correspondences between Miriai in Mandaean literature
and conceptions of Miriam and Fatimah in Islam adds another stratum to the onion peel
of Mandaean identity. The possibility of reading Miriai as an embodiment of Mandaean
piety suggested by comparing the similarities in Miriais story to Islamic tales about
Miriam and Fatimah gives Miriais appearance in Mandaean literature a far more cogent
purpose than can be gleaned from previous interpretations of her as a corruption of
apocryphal Christian traditions. More importantly the traits and behaviors associated
with Miriai explain to us that the telos of Mandaean belief and practice is to return to the
Lightworld, while simultaneously outlining the exact process by which such a goal is
achieved. The analysis of Miriais story in conjunction with parallel aspects of Islam
provides priceless insight into the theology that defines Mandaeism.
Another piece of Mandaean identity illuminated by the Miriai story that becomes
apparent by comparison with Islam is the complicated status the Mandaeans assign
themselves with regard to Judaism. The Mandaeans regard themselves as walking a fine
line between vaguely related to Judaism, therefore laying claim to the positive attributes
of Judaisms antiquity and chosen-ness, and distancing Mandaeism from Judaism,
claiming that the former surpasses the latter in terms of being the true expression of
divine will. In other words we learn from interpreting the story of Miriai through lenses
provided by Islam how the Mandaeans conceived of their religion in relation to other
important religious traditions.
The last part of Mandaean identity to be revealed by placing Mandaeism and
Islam in dialogue is manifest in the character of Yahia. What appear to be active
attempts by the Mandaeans to present Yahia as figure who conforms to a category of

285

prophethood that is likewise embraced by Islam is a fascinating example of Mandaean

efforts to shape the expression of their religious identity to fit prevailing standards of
what constitutes a legitimate religion. As Islam rose to power it becomes increasingly
clear that religions meriting protected (dhimmi) status are those that profess belief in a
prophet. Yahias rise to prominence in Mandaean religion can be read as a self-conscious
move to reshape the expression of Mandaean religious identity. Realizing how and why
Yahia became a key factor in Mandaeism takes our appreciation of the complexity of
Mandaean religious identity to a whole new level.
The many layers of Mandaean religious identity laid bare by comparison with
Islam represent only a fraction of the composite nature of Mandaean religious identity,
and yet they are an important addition to the field of Mandaean studies. They introduce
and defend the idea that Mandaean religious identity is, in fact, an amalgam of many
factors. It is no longer sufficient to speak of Mandaeism as simply a resilient Gnosticism.
This is not to say we should abandon the investigation of the Gnosticism associated with
Mandaeism, but rather that we must temper it with the realization that the Mandaean
connection with Gnosticism is one part of the large complex of Mandaean identity. This
is true of for any future attempts to alight upon a notion of Mandaean identity: we must
consider the parallels with other traditions but we must do so with an appreciation for the
fact that what they reveal about the religious identity of Mandaeism is only a fraction of
the overall expression of Mandaean religious identity.

286

Relevance
Entwined with the answers to the question of Mandaean identity is a response to
the question of why should we care. There are many arguments for the relevancy of
Mandaean studies but in the context of the project of comparing Mandaeism to Islam
there are two that emerge as particularly worthy of mention. The study of Mandaeism,
especially in comparison with Islam, is relevant because it has the potential to contribute
to both our understanding of how hybridity functions within religious traditions and
theories about the origins of Islam.

Hybridity
In addition to the aspects of Mandaean religious identity already noted, one of the
things that becomes readily apparent about Mandaeism when it is compared with Islam is
that Mandaean religion offers a quintessential example of the functionality of hybridity.
Hybridity is a common characteristic of all religions and yet the Mandaean figures of
Miriai and Yahia, with their particular positionality between similar figures in Islam and
Judaism or Christianity, manifest the processes of hybridity in a way that begs for further
study.
The depictions of Miriai and Yahia played a critical role in defining what it is to
be a Mandaean. At the same time it is clear that the Mandaean images of Miriai and
Yahia result from a reformulation of themes and imagery known to other religious
traditions. If we can gain an even more nuanced sense of how Miriai and Yahia compare
to elements of Mandaeism religious neighbors we can appreciate the way in which

287

hybridity affects the development of religious identity. In other words the study of
Mandaeism also promotes the study of hybridity.

Origins of Islam
The other notable beneficial outcome of the comparison of Mandaeism and Islam,
which also speaks to the relevancy of continued Mandaean Studies, is that of potential for
injecting a new perspective into theorizing about the origins of Islam. Although this
project has focused on how exposure to Islam may have impacted Mandaean religion, the
flow of influence is never one-directional. If it can be argued that the Muslims may have
an effect on the religious identity of the Mandaeans then it can be equally proposed that
the Mandaeans may have left an impression on the development of Islam. In fact, given
that it is reasonable to assume that Mandaeism was the more established of the two
religions at the time of the initial interactions between the Mandaeans and the Muslims it
might be hypothesized that Mandaeism could have been a particularly useful point of
reference for nascent Islam. While we must proceed cautiously so as to prevent
Mandaean studies from becoming little more than a corollary of early Islamic studies, the
comparison of the two religions initiated in this project opens the door to a new line of
inquiry in the field of Islam.

288

Bibliography
Adang, Camilla. Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible. New York: Brill,
1996.
Ayoub, Mahmoud. The Qur`an and Its Interpreters. Albany, NY: State University of
NewYork Press, 1992.
Barr, James. The Question of Religious Influence: The Case of Zoroastrianism,
Judaism, and Christianity. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 52 no.
2 (1985): 201-235.
Berg, Herbert, ed. Method and Theory in the Study of Islamic Origins. Leiden: Brill,
2003.
Brandt, Willhelm. Die manderliche Religion. Eine Erforschung der Religion der
Mander in theologischer, religioner, philosophischer, und kultureller
Hinsichtdargestellt. Amsterdam: Philo Press, 1973.
Buck, Christopher. Identity of the Sbi`n: an Historical Quest. Muslim World 74 JulyOctober (1984): 172-186.
Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. The Colophons in The Canonical Prayerbook of the
Mandaeans. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 51 (1992): 33-50.
---. The Evidence for Women Priests in Mandaeism. Journal of Near Eastern Studies
59 no. 2(2000): 93-106.
---. The Great Stem of Souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias
Press, 2005.
---. The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts Modern People. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2002.
---. The Mandaean Appropriation of Jesus Mother, Miriai. Novum Testamentum 35
no. 2(1992): 33-50.
---. A Re-Investigation of The Book of John. ARAM Journal for Syro-Mesopotamian
Studies 16 (2004): 13-23.
Bultmann, Rudolf. Die Bedeutng der neuerschlossen mandschen Quellen fr das
Verstndnis des Johannesevangeliums. Zeitschrift fr die neuertestamentliche
Wissenschaft 24 (1925): 100-146.
Choksy, Jamsheed. Conflict, Coexistence, and Cooperation: Muslims and Zoroastrians
289

in Eastern Iran during the Medieval Period. Muslim World 80 vol. 3-4 (1990):
213-233.
---. Conflict and Cooperation: Zoroastrian Subalterns and Muslim Elites in Medieval
Iranian Society. New York, Columbia University Press, 1997.
---. Hagiography and Monotheism in History: Doctrinal Encounters between
Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity. Islam and Christian-Muslim
Relations 14 no. 4 (2003): 407-421.
Cohn-Sherbok, Daniel. The Gnostic Mandaeans and Heterodox Judaism. Hebrew
Union College Annual 54 (1983): 147-151.
Colby, Frederick S. Narrating Muhammads Night Journey: Tracing the Development of
the Ibn `Abbs Ascension Discourse. State University of New York Press, 2008.
Cook, David. Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic. Princeton: The Darin Press, 2002.
Cooperson, Michael. Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs to the Prophets in the Age
of al-Ma`mun. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Crone, Patricia and David Cook. Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Daftary, Farhad. Medieval Isma`ili History and Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1996.
Deutsch, Nathaniel. The Gnostic Imagination: Gnosticism, Mandaeism, and Merkabah
Mysticism. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995.
Dodge, Bayard. The Sabians of Harrn. American University of Beirut Festival of
Books. eds. Fad Sarrf and Suha Tamim. Beirut: American University of Beirut,
(1967): 39-85.
Donner, Fred. The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1981.
---. Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writings.
Princeton N.J.: The Darwin Press, 1998.
Drower, Lady E.S. The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Leiden: Brill, 1959.

---. Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories. Studi e Testi 176. Vatican City:
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1950.
290

---. Haran Gawaita. Studi e Testi 176. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana,
1953.
---. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1937.
---. The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar uialia). Berlin:
Akademie Verlag, 1960.
Dundes, Alan. Fables of the Ancients? Folklore in the Qur`an. Lanham: Rowman and
Littlefield Publishers, 2003.
Firestone, Reuven. Journeys in Holy Lands. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1990.
Foerester, Werner. Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic Texts, vol.2: Coptic and Mandaean
Sources. Oxford: Clarendon, 1974.
Frye, Richard N. The Heritage of Persia 2nd edition, 1976. Reprint. Costa Mesa, CA:
Mazda Publishers, 1993.
Furuzandah. Masud. Tahqiqi har din-i Sabiin i-Mandai. Iran: Simat, 1998.
Geagea, Nilo. Mary of the Koran: A Meeting Point Between Christianity and Islam.
New York: Philosophical Library, 1984.
Graham, William. Review of John Wansbrough. Journal of the American Oriental
Society 100 (1980): 361-77.
Greenfield, Jonas C. A Mandaic Miscellany. Journal of the American Oriental Society
104 no. 1 (1984): 81-85.
Guillaume, A. The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaqs Sirat Rasl Allah.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955.
Gndz, inasi. The Knowledge of Life: The Origins and Early History of the
Mandaeans and Their Relationship to the Sabeans of the Qur`an and to the
Harranians. Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement 3. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1994.
---. The Problem of the Nature and Date of Mandaean Sources. Journal for the Study
of the New Testament 53 (1994): 87-97.
Hberl, Charles. The neo-Mandaic Dialect of Khorramshahr. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, 2009.
291

Hallaq, Wael. The Origins and Evolution of Islamic Law. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2005.
Hawtig, Gerald. The Ideal of Idolatry and the Rise of Islam: From Polemic to History.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Hodgson, Marshall. The Venture of Islam. 3 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1971.
Hunter, Erica. Two Mandaic Incantation Bowls from the 18th Nippur Season,
Baghdader Mitteilungen 25 (1994): 605-18
Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion. Boston: Beacon Press, 1963.
Kassam-Hann. Transcendence and the Body: Fatimah as a Paradigmatic Model.
Feminist Theology 10 no. 30 (2002): 77-93.
King, Karen. What is Gnosticism. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University
Press, 2003.
Lewis Bernard. The Arabs in History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Lewis, Bernard; V.I. Menage; Ch. Pellat; and J. Schacht, eds. Encyclopedia of Islam.
Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1986.
Lidzbarski, Mark. Das Johannesbuch der Mander. Giessen: Tpelmann, 1915.
---. Mandische Liturgien. Abhandlungen der Kniglichen Gesellschaft der
Wissenschaften zu Gttingen, phil.-hist. Klasse, NF, vol. 17, 1. Hildesheim:
Olms, 1962.
---. Ginza: Der Schatz oder das grosse Buch der Mander. Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and
Ruprecht, 1925.
Lieu, Samuel N.C. Manichaeism in the Late Roman Empire and Medieval China. 2nd
edition. Tbingen: Mohr, 1992.
---. Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the Roman East. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994.
Lupieri, Edmundo. The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics. Translated by Charles Hindley.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.
292

Lybarger, Loren D. Gender and Prophetic Authority in the Qur`anic Story of Maryam:
A Literary Approach. Journal of Religion 80 no. 2 (2000): 240-270.
Mauch, Rudolf. Anfange der Mander. Die Araber in der alten Welt. ed. Franz
Altheim and Ruth Stieht. Berlin: de Gruyter, (1965): 76-190.
---. Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1965.
---. The Origins of the Mandaeans and their Script. Journal of Semitic Studies 16
(1971): 174-192.
---. Zur Sprache und Literatur de Mander. Studia Mandaica 1. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1976.
Madelung, Wilfred. The Succession to Muhammad. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1997.
---. Religious and Ethnic Movements in Medieval Islam. Brookfield, Vt: Ashgate
Publishing, 1992.
---. Religious Trends in Early Islamic Iran. Albany: Persian Heritage Foundation, 1988.
McAuliffe, Jane D. Chosen of All Women: Mary and Fatima in Qur`anic Exegesis.
Islamochristiana 7 (1981): 19-28.
---. Exegetical Identifications of the Sbi`n. Muslim World 72 vol. 2 (1982): 95-106.
---. The Qur`anic Context of Muslim Biblical Scholarship. Islam and ChristianMuslim Relations 7 no. 2 (1996): 141-158.
McCullough, W.S. Jewish Mandaean Incantation Bowls in the Royal Ontario Museum.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967.
Momen, Moojan. An Introduction to Shi`i Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press,
1985.
Morony, Michael G. Iraq after the Muslim Conquest. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1984.
Mller-Kessler, Christa. The Mandaeans and the Question of their Origins. ARAM
Journal for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 16 (2004): 47-60.
Pallis, Svend Aage. Mandaean Studies. London: Milford, 1926.

293

Pederson, Johannes. The Sbians. A Volume of Oriental Studies Presented to Edward

G. Browne. eds. T.W. Arnold and Reynold Nicholson. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1922.
Powers, David. Muhammad in not the Father of any of your Men: Making of the Last
Prophet. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.
Rahman, Fazlur. Islam. 2nd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
---. Islams Attitude toward Judaism. Muslim World 72 no. 1 (2006): 1-13.
---. Major Themes of the Qur`an. Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980.
Reinhart, Kevin. Before Revelation: The Boundaries of Muslim Moral Thought. Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1995.
Reitzenstein, Richard. Das manderliche Buch des Herrn der Grosse und die
Evangelienberlieferung. Heidelberg: Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberg Akademie
der Wissenschaften, 1919.
Rudolph, Kurt. Die Mander. Vol. 1: Prolegomena: Das Manderproblem. And Vol. 2:
Der Kult. Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1960-61.
---. Problems of a History of the Development of the Mandaean Religion. History of
Religions 8 no. 3 (1969): 210-235.
---. The Relevance of Mandaean Literature for the Study of Near Eastern Religion.
ARAM: Journal of Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 16 (2004): 1-12.
---. Theogonie, Kosmogonie, und Anthropogonie in denmandischen Schriften.
Gttingen: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1965.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1978.
Sve-Sderbergh, Torgny. Studies in the Coptic Manichaean Psalmbook. Uppsala:
Almquist and Wiksell, 1949.
Smith, J.Z. Drudgery Divine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.
Stewart, Devin. Islamic Legal Orthodoxy: Twelver Shiite Response to the Sunni Legal
System. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1998.
294

Stroumsa, Sarah. The Signs of Prophecy: The Emergence and Early Development of a
Theme in Arabic Theological Literature. Harvard Theological Review 78 nos.
1-2 (1985): 101-114.
al-Tha`labi, Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. Arala al-Majalis Fi Qisas al-Anbiya
(Life of the Prophets: as Recounted by Abu Ishaq). Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Turner, Colin. Islam: The Basics. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Waldman, Marilyn. New Approaches to Biblical Materials in the Qur`an. Muslim
World 75(2001): 1-16.
Wansbrough, John. Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.
---. The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Comparison of Islamic Salvation History.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Wasserstrom, Steve. The Moving Finger Writes: Mughra B. Sa`ds Islamic Gnosis
and the Myths of Its Rejection. History of Religions 25 no. 1 (1985): 1-29.
Williams, Michael. Rethinking Gnosticism: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious
Category. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Widengren, Geo ed. Der Mandaismus. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft,
1982
Yamauchi, Edwin. Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins. Cambridge MA: Harvard
University Press, 1970.
---. Mandaic Incantation Texts. Piscataway NJ: Gorgias Press, 2005
Yarshater, Eshan, ed. Cambridge History of Iran vol. 1-3. 2nd edition. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Yeor, Bat. The Dhimmi: Jews and Christians under Islam. Rutherford NJ: Fairleigh
Dickinson Press, 1985.
Zalcman, Lawrence. Christians, Noerim, and Nebuchadnezzars Daughter. The
Jewish Quarterly Review 81 no. 3-4 (1991): 411-426

295

Jennifer Hart
Curriculum Vitae
September 2009
Miami University
Department of Comparative Religion
7 Old Manse
Oxford, OH 45056
hartja3@muohio.edu
513.529.4303
320.290.0926
Education and Background
Ph.D., Religious Studies, Indiana University, 2010
M.A., Womens Studies in Religion, Claremont Graduate University 2000
B.A., with honors and highest distinction, Religion, Classics, Kenyon College, 1997
Dissertation
The Mandaeans, a People of the Book? An Examination of the Influence of Islam on the
Development of Mandaean Literature.
Director: Jamsheed Choksy
Readers: David Brakke, Bert Harrill, Kevin Jaques
Teaching Experience
Instructor, Miami University (August 2009-present)
Religion and Modern Culture: Science Fiction and Religion (Fall 2009, Spring
2010)
Islam (Fall 2009)
Gender and Religion in Late Antiquity (Spring 2010-Honors course)
Introduction to Mythology (Spring 2010)
Instructor, Whitman College (2008-2009)
Mythologies of Light and Dark: Dualism in Ancient Iran (Fall 2008)
Introduction to Islam (Fall 2008)
Gnosticism and Its Discontents (Fall 2008)
Fire Temples, Baptisms, and Celibacy: A Survey of the Ritual Practices of
Ancient Iranian Religions (Spring 2009)
Introduction to Zoroastrianism (Spring 2009)
Introduction to Shiism (Spring 2009)
Women, the Veil, and Politics in Modern Islam (Spring 2009-Independent
Study)
Instructor, Indiana University (2004-2006)
Mythology of Good and Evil: Dualism in the ancient Middle East (Fall 2004)
Religions of the West (Summer 2005, Summer 2006)

Introduction to Christianity (April 2005- April 2006; online course)

Associate Instructor, Indiana University (2001-2005)
Star Trek and Religion (Fall 2001)
Introduction to the New Testament (Spring 2002)
Introduction to Islam (Fall 2002)
Religions of the West (Spring 2003, Spring 2005)
Introduction to Ethics (Fall 2003)
Introduction to Christianity (Spring 2004)
Publications and Research
Bogomils and Cathars in the Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, Ed. Fedwa MaltiDouglas. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomas Gale, 2007.
Gnosticism in the Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas.
Farmington Hills, MI: Thomas Gale, 2007.
Initiation in the Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas.
Farmington Hills, MI: Thomas Gale, 2007.
Oracles in the Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Farmington
Hills, MI: Thomas Gale, October 2007.
Sophia in the Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender, Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Farmington
Hills, MI: Thomas Gale, 2007.
The Influence of Islam upon Mandaean Texts and Tradition in Religion and
Normativity: The Discursive Fight over Religious Texts in Antiquity. Ed. AndersChristian Jacobsen, Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 2009.
Yahya as Mandaean Rasul?: Rethinking the Influence of Islam on the Development of
Mandaean Literature ARAM Journal for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies Forthcoming Fall
2009.
Primary Research Areas: Iranian Religions, Islam, Christianity and Gnosticism
Secondary Research Areas: Myth Studies, Theory and Methodology
Modern Languages: Persian (reading and speaking), German (reading), French (reading),
Danish (reading and speaking)
Ancient Languages: Middle Persian, Mandaic, Syriac, Greek
Research Assistant to Karen Torjesen, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont,
California (1997-98)
Expert Reviewer for Dont Know Much About World Myths (New York: HarperCollins,
2005)
Honors and Professional Service
Indiana University (August 2007-June 2008

Greenburg Albee Fellowship

College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Year Research Fellowship
Aarhus University, Aarhus Denmark
Foreign Visiting PhD Fellowship (September 2006-February 2007)
Indiana University (2001- 2005)
Religious Studies Department Scholarship
Claremont Graduate University (1997-2000)
Margo Goldwater Fellowship
Departmental Tuition Fellowship
Kenyon College (1993-1997)
Phi Beta Kappa
Religious Studies Prize
Summa cum laude Religion, Classics, highest honors
American Academy of Religion (member)
Graduate Student Liaison to AAR for Indiana University (2002-2006)
Society of Biblical Literature (member)
Middle East Studies Association (member)
Conferences
ARAM 24th International Conference: University of Sydney, July 8-10, 2007
Paper presenter, Yahia as the Mandaean Rasul
ARAM 27th International Conference: University of Oxford, July 9-11, 2009
Paper presenter, Making a Case for a Connection between Mandaean Literature
and Islam
Eastern Oregon Forum: Blue Mountain Community College
Featured Speaker, Fundamentals of Islam January 13 2009
and Islamic Extremism February 10 2009
Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting: November 21-24, 2009
Paper presenter, One Woman, Four Traditions: The Convergence of Mandaeism,
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity in the Character of Miriai
References
David Brakke, Professor and Department Chair Religion, Indiana University
dbrakke@indiana.edu
Jamsheed Choksy, Professor Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University
jchoksy@indiana.edu
Kevin Jaques, Associate Professor Religion, Indiana University
rjaques@indiana.edu