A Brief Look at the Doctrines and Beliefs of the Druze Sect (part two)
The literal and idiomatic meaning of “Druze”
” “الدَّرْزAl-Darz: One of the seams of clothing and the like. This word is Arabicized from Persian, and lice is also called: girls of Darz. And “بنو دَرْز” means tailors and weavers, and “اولاد دَرْزَة” means commoners and inferior people. The Arabs call an illegitimate child: he is the son of “Darz”; and this is said when he is the son of a slave woman who had relations with men and gave birth to a child whose father is not known.” [1]
However, the Druze tribe is an esoteric sect that has considered itself to be in the stage of “hidden life” (Dowr Al-sitr) for nearly a thousand years; meaning that they hide their beliefs and do not reveal them so that light is not shed on their religion.
Although the Druze themselves are sensitive to the title “Druze” and consider it an insult; but this name is based on the name of one of their earliest individuals (Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Druzi), they call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid or al-Mawahidun.
The name “Druze” has long been a subject of debate among writers and historians, it is known that this people do not like to be known by this title and are averse to being associated with the preacher “Noshtakin Al-Darzi”; they call themselves “Muwahhidun” (monotheists), and this is the name they have used for themselves in their holy books. [2]
Some have said that they trace their lineage back to the French Count de Dreux, a commander of the Crusades, who, after his defeat at Acre, took refuge in the areas adjacent to the Druze, while another writer states that the name “Druze” was taken from Hamza himself; as he said to his disciples: “Go now, for you are no longer ‘learners’ but ‘learners’, because you have accepted the sciences and the threads of illusion have become embedded in you, as thread is embedded in cloth.”
These claims are also not supported by any historical source and are nothing more than baseless fantasies.
Undoubtedly, the area where the Druze belief spread was Wadi Taym; where Arab tribes had migrated from the Arabian Peninsula before Islam and settled. These tribes accepted Islam; But during the Ubaid government, the Ismaili faith spread among them. Their inclination towards the Ismaili faith played an important role in the rapid acceptance of the Druze call, especially when the ruler exiled him to that region. Those tribes gathered around him and considered the ruler a deity.
All this clearly indicates that the Druze are from Arab tribes; although “Kamal Jumbalatt” (one of the prominent contemporary Druze figures) attributes the origin of his tribe to “Hermes Mothalath Al-Hikmah” and believes that its history goes back five thousand years.
In order to accurately understand the history and beliefs of the Druze tribe, it is necessary to first become familiar with the history and beliefs of the Ismaili esoteric tribe; because the Druze have adopted many of their beliefs from them.
Anyone who follows the history of the Ismaili sect will find that many sects that split from Islam and became enemies with it originated from this sect.
For example, the “Qarameta” sect was considered a part of the Ismaili sect. They fought the Islamic state for decades, and the Ubaid government in the Maghreb and Egypt always supported them materially and spiritually.
Also, the “Ikhwan Al-Safa” were also Ismaili in belief and behavior, and their letters were a written record of this religion and its propagation in a philosophical form.
The Druze sect, which we are examining here, has taken many of its beliefs from the Ismailis.
However, the “Hashashin” (Assassins), who appeared after the collapse of the Ubaid government during the reign of Sultan Saladin Ayyubi (may Allah bless him) were also considered Ismaili sects. The Islamic community suffered greatly from their seditions and betrayals; Because they served the Tatars and the Crusaders against the Muslims, and the point that should be mentioned here is that the Assassins were a branch of the Ismaili sect.
What has been stated is only a small part of the history of this tribe; therefore, we must begin by examining the beginning of its emergence.
Ismaili Esoteric Sect
The Ismaili sect, which is a branch of the Rafidi sects, took its religious principles from the Rafidi principles that existed before the emergence of Ismailism. The disagreement was very minor at first and was limited to the issue of Imamate; but it gradually intensified and over time, ideas and principles entered it that deviated from its previous path.
After the death of “Jahfar al-Sadiq”, the Rawafid divided into two sects:
A sect that believed in the Imamate of “Musa al-Kazim”, the son of Jahfar al-Sadiq, and continued the Imamate in a generation older than his. They are called “Imamiyah Ithani-Ashariyyah”.
The second sect is the Ismaili, who believed in the Imamate of “Ismail”, another son of Jahfar al-Sadiq, and this sect (Druze) is attributed to him.
Ismaili historians believe that the reason for the split of Jahfar’s followers into these two groups was that Jahfar al-Sadiq had appointed Ismail as Imam; but Ismail died during his father’s lifetime; as a result, the Imamate was transferred to his son “Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Jahfar”; because according to their principles, the Imamate is transferred only in subsequent generations and from father to son and is not transferred from brother to brother except in the case of Hasan and Hussain.
They have interpreted the verse of the Holy Quran “وَجَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةً بَاقِيَةً فِي عَقِبِهِ” Translation: “And made it an enduring word among his descendants.” in such a way that “word” means Imamate and this Imamate should remain in subsequent generations, not among brothers or others. In addition, Muhammad ibn Ismail was older than his uncle Musa al-Kazim, and according to the Rawafid tradition that considers the Imamate to be in the eldest member of the family, Muhammad ibn Ismail was more worthy of the Imamate than his uncle Musa.
On the other hand, there are narrations that show that Jahfar al-Sadiq was not pleased with the behavior of his son Ismail and, because Ismail was fond of drinking alcohol and women, he dismissed him from the Imamate and exonerated him of his actions.
However, Ismail’s followers did not accept this action of Jahfar and said that Ismail was infallible and even if he had drunk alcohol, this would not deprive him of his infallibility.
Some contemporary historians have cited other reasons and causes for Imam Jahfar al-Sadiq’s change of opinion regarding his son Ismail, other than drinking alcohol and his attachment to women.
Among them: Ismail was friends with the wicked and atheist “Al-Asadi” who claimed Jahfar’s divinity and who is attributed with the “Khattabiya” movement. This made Jahfar hate him, curse him and be unhappy with the relationship between him and his son Ismail.
This is confirmed by what Bernard Lewis has narrated; because he considers the nickname of “Abu Al-Khattab” as “Abu Ismail”, which indicates that Abu Al-Khattab was in fact Ismail’s spiritual father and his intellectual adoptee.
Among the claims and allegations of Abu Al-Khattab was: “The Imams are prophets, then they become God (Allah), and he believed in the divinity of Jahfar and his fathers and considered them the children of Allah and His beloved ones. He introduced divinity as a light in prophecy and prophecy as a light in Imamate; and he believed that the world would not be devoid of these effects.
He considered paradise to be the good, blessing and health that befalls humans; and hell to be the evil, calamity and suffering that befalls them.
He also considered drinking alcohol, adultery and other forbidden things to be permissible, and considered abandoning prayer and all religious obligations permissible.
He also believed in reincarnation and considered faith to have seven degrees.
From all these things, it can be concluded that Ismail had a close relationship with atheists and sinners (such as Abu al-Khattab); who later founded a sect in his name.
Therefore, his dismissal by his father (Imam Jahfar al-Sadiq) was suspicious and improper because of these relationships.
This theory is also strengthened by the strong relationship between “Muhammad ibn Ismail” and “Maymun Qaddah” (the intellectual heir of Abu al-Khattab) in the esoteric call. [3]
They lived in the midst of the Islamic society and in Muslim states, but at the same time they pretend to be close to the Christians because in their eyes the “Messiah” is Hamza ibn Ali.
Even now, in the occupied territories of Palestine (Israel), they pretend to be close and friendly to the Jews, and we have seen that some of their great contemporary thinkers travel to India and declare that their beliefs originate from Indian wisdom.
But the truth is that deep down, they hate all followers of other religions – especially Muslims. They believe that the devils are followers of other religions, and the “Oqq’al” (the wise) are the angels.
