Author: Ghiyath al-Din Ghouri
A Brief Look at the Doctrines and Beliefs of the Druze Sect (Part 4)
Principles of Beliefs, Thoughts, and Beliefs of the Druze Sect
The principles of belief on which the Druze sect is based, and these principles are taken from the internal sources of the Druze themselves, including the collection of “Risa’il al-Hikmah” which is considered their fundamental intellectual authority, we will briefly explain the beliefs of this sect in this topic.
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God (Allah)
The concept of God in the Druze religion is described as a strict and undeniable unity; because in their belief, the human intellect is not able to comprehend the greatness of God’s attributes, the main doctrine of the Druze states that God is both transcendent and present, so that He is beyond all attributes; but at the same time He is present.
They have removed all attributes from God in their desire to maintain a strict confession of unity. There is no attribute separate from His essence, He is not through wisdom, power, and justice; Rather, by His essence, He is wise, powerful, and just. God is “all of existence,” not “beyond existence” or on His throne that “limits” Him. Neither “how,” nor “when,” nor “where” is true about Him; He is incomprehensible.
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The Divinity of Al-Hakim Be Amrullah
The first and most dangerous principle in Druze belief is the claim of divinity for the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Hakim Be Amrullah. They believe that God (Allah) is manifested in the essence of Al-Hakim and that he is the manifestation of God on earth.
Hamza ibn Ali described Al-Hakim in his letters as “ربّ” “Lord”, “خالق” “Creator,” and “القدیم“ “Ancient.”
They believe in the divinity of the “Al-Hakim” and believe that he will return. When he died, they said that he had disappeared and would return one day.
They believe that their religion has abrogated all previous religions and laws and has denied all the commandments, worships and principles of the Islamic religion.
Some of their contemporary thinkers have traveled to India and pretend that their beliefs are derived from Indian wisdom.
They believe that the appearance of God in human form has been repeated throughout history and that Al-Hakim is its last and most complete manifestation.
They deny the inherent divinity of God and believe in the divinity of Al-Hakim based on the call of “Hamza” more than nine centuries ago.
They believe in his return (Raj’at) at the end of time;
This belief is clearly opposed to the monotheistic teachings of Islam and is an example of polytheism and disbelief.
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Belief in Tanasokh (reincarnation) (reincarnation and transmigration of the soul)
One of the principles of Druze belief is the belief in reincarnation, meaning: after death, the human soul leaves his body and enters the body of another person (a newborn).
In no case is the soul destroyed and is always in circulation.
They deny physical paradise and hell; they consider heaven to be inner satisfaction and hell to be punishment in the form of another body.
That is, they believe that the human soul is transferred from one body to another after death and the reward and punishment depend on whether the soul enters a happier or more miserable body.
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They deny the afterlife, in its Islamic sense: they deny paradise, hell, reward and punishment.
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They deny the Holy Quran.
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They trace their beliefs back to very ancient times: and they are proud of the attribution of the civilization of the Pharaohs and the sages of India.
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Taqiyyah (concealing beliefs)
Taqiyyah is one of the practical pillars of the Druze faith:
They hide their beliefs to protect their lives, social status, and influence in Islamic societies.
They behave like Muslims in the presence of Muslims; but in private, they live with their own beliefs.
Many of them even have an Islamic appearance (such as using Islamic names or participating in religious ceremonies), but do not believe in any of its principles.
Hiding and keeping secrets are among the principles of their religion; this is not a matter of Taqiyyah; rather, it is considered part of their Sharia.
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They consider the beginning of their history to be from the year 804 AH: the year Hamzah declared the divinity of Al-Hakim.
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The Day of Judgment, which refers to the return of Al-Hakim; According to them, Al-Hakim will return to destroy the Kaaba, destroy Muslims and Christians all over the world, and rule the world forever, forcing Muslims to pay the Jeziya (ransom) and humiliating them.
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He denies all prophets and messengers:
They deny all prophets and messengers and consider them [Allah forbid] devils.
They believe that Jesus Christ is actually their preacher “Hamza” who was active during a certain period.
They consider all followers of other religions, especially Muslims, to be enemies, consider their blood and property permissible, and if they are able, they will betray and deceive them.
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They believe that the “Al-Hakim” has sent five prophets: Hamza, Ismail, Muhammad Al-Kalima, Abu al-Khair, and Baha.
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Rejection of Islamic Sharia and rulings
The Druze reject Islamic Sharia and only believe in its appearance to please the masses.
They have either eliminated prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, zakat, and other obligatory duties of the law or have given them an esoteric interpretation.
According to them, religion is for “special intellectuals,” not “the common people.”
The outward performance of worship is not obligatory for the common people, and it is meaningless for the intellectuals of the elite.
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Classification of people
Contemporary Druze society is divided into two groups in terms of religion, as in the past:
A: Al-Uqala’ (intellectuals) (Al-Muwahedun or clerics), who are in charge of the secrets of the tribe and are divided into the leaders, the intellectuals of the people, and the Ajawid.
A special group who are aware of Druze beliefs and are allowed to study esoteric texts.
B: Al-Johhal (the ignorant or the carnal): who are in charge of worldly affairs and are divided into two groups: “Omara” and “Johhal”.
The common people who must be kept in ignorance, obey them, and are deprived of entering into the secrets of belief.
This attitude shows a type of extreme elitist and sectarian thinking.
Socially, they do not acknowledge the existing governments and are only subordinate to the “Sheikh al-Aql” and his representatives in a system similar to a religious feudal system.
According to them, God created the universal intellect and through it, created the universal soul, and creatures branched out from it.
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Extreme interpretation
The Druze interpret every verse and religious ruling:
For example:
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They do not consider prayer to be five actual prayers; but rather five stages of spiritual closeness to “the truth”;
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Hajj is not a journey to Makkah; Rather, they consider it an inner journey to the inner Imam;
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They interpret Zakat not as a payment of money; but as the purification of the heart from mental impurities.
This type of extreme interpretation has led to the denial of the practical law of Islam.
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They do not adhere to any of the Islamic rules and acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, Zakat, and Hajj, but rather deny all the principles of Islam and the entire Islamic law.
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They oppose marriage with non-Muslims: they consider charity and helping them forbidden and do not allow the return of a divorced woman.
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17. They deprive girls of inheritance.
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18. They do not recognize the sanctity of foster siblings.
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They do not accept anyone into their religion and do not allow them to leave the religion.
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They also have offensive beliefs about the Sahaba (Companions); they say negative and offensive words about Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them).
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Instead of mosques, they gather in «خلوات» “Khalwat” and do not allow anyone to enter them.
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They perform the pilgrimage to «خلوةالبياضة» “Khalawat al-Bayaza” in the city of “Hasbia” in Lebanon and visit the Church of Mary in the village of Maloula in Damascus province.
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No Druze learns or retells their religious beliefs at a young age. They are only obligated to follow the teachings of the religion when they reach the age of forty – which they consider the age of reason.
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Esotericism
The Druze believe that many of the teachings given by prophets, religious leaders and holy books have esoteric meanings that have been preserved for the people of intellect, so that some of the teachings are symbolic and metaphorical, and they divide the understanding of the holy books and teachings into three layers.
These layers, according to the Druze, are as follows:
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The manifest or apparent (Zaher), accessible to anyone who can read or hear.
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The hidden or esoteric (Baten), accessible to those who are willing to search and learn through the concept of interpretation.
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The hidden of the hidden, a concept called «اناگوگ» “Anagog,” inaccessible to all but a few truly enlightened individuals who truly understand the nature of the universe.
The Druze sect is classified as an esoteric sect because it believes in Taqiyyah, esotericism, and secrecy.
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Formal Druze worship is limited to weekly meetings on Thursday nights, where all members of the community gather to discuss local matters before those who have not learned the mysteries of the religion (the ignorant, or Johhal) are dismissed; Then those who are intellectuals (those who are familiar with the Druze holy books) remain to read and study.
Summary
They attribute the roots of their religion to previous philosophical and mystical methods in different historical periods. As Kamal Jumbalatt writes in the introduction to the book “Lights on the Path of Monotheism – Druze”:
“In our opinion, the path of monotheism cannot be considered apart from the paths of wisdom and mysticism that have existed in different periods of history – both known and unknown. These paths shaped the lives of the first monotheistic believers in ancient Egypt, India, Persia, Tibet, the lands behind the oases, Babylon, Assyria, Greece, the islands of the Mediterranean and its coasts, and then in Islam, before that in early Christianity and even before that (as revealed in the Dead Sea caves in Palestine), and in the mystical religions that were scattered throughout the ancient world. Wisdom is not separate from one another at any time or place.”
The Druze thinker Jumbalatt does not stop there; he attributes the origin of this religion to the sages of India, saying: “One of the most amazing things we found in these manuscripts was the connection of this monotheistic path with the sages of India and Sindh. We have believed and still believe that wisdom is the same in every place and time; its essence does not change, because the truth is one, its discovery is one, and the human spirit and intellect are one.
We were aware of the connection between the monotheists and the sages of India, they praised them and mentioned some of their blessed figures. In particular, we followed the story of the book “Balohar al-Hakim”, a book that is popular among the Mowahedoun and is considered one of their books of advice and counsel. And we found that the Mowahedoun are right in these lands, because they possess the inner and outer aspects of universal human wisdom.
This is a summary of the Druze religion; and it is undoubtedly one of the most astonishing pages of rebellion against Islam, but rather a rebellion against intellect and logic, and in terms of extremism and deviation, it is one of the most extreme.
Continues…
