al-Nusayriyya Tughat Suriya aw al-Alawiyun kama sammahum al-Faransiyun
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Iftāʾ
al-Nusayriyya Tughat Suriya aw al-Alawiyun kama sammahum al-Faransiyun (The Nusayris: The Tyrants of Syria, or the Alawites as the French Named Them) is a published legal treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) addressing the theology, history, and legal status of the Nusayri sect .
Context and the Query
The text consists of an extensive legal question (istifta') submitted to Ibn Taymiyya followed by his comprehensive fatwa . The questioner begins by detailing the doctrines and esoteric rituals ascribed to the Nusayriyya, including their permitting of wine, belief in metempsychosis (tanasukh al-arwah), the eternity of the world, and denial of physical resurrection, the afterlife, Paradise, and Hell . The query notes that they interpret the five obligatory daily prayers as esoteric references to five figures—Ali ibn Abi Talib, al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Muhsin, and Fatima—asserting that reciting these names relieves them of ablution, ritual purification (ghusl), and prayer conditions . Fasting is similarly interpreted as thirty male and thirty female names, while Ali is deified as the divine creator manifested in human form (nasut) .
The query further outlines their secret initiation ceremony (khitab), cyclical manifestations of the "Name" (ism) and "Meaning" (ma'na) across prophetic history—such as Adam and Seth, Jacob and Joseph, Moses and Joshua, Solomon and Asaf, and Muhammad and Ali, with Salman al-Farsi serving as the "Gate" (bab)—alongside ritual cursing of the early caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Uthman ibn Affan . Given their control over substantial parts of the Syrian coast and mountains, the questioner asks about the rulings on intermarrying with them, consuming meat slaughtered by them, eating cheese made from their rennet, using their utensils, burying their dead in Muslim cemeteries, employing them in border garrisons (thughur), and whether combating them takes precedence over other military campaigns .
Doctrinal and Historical Critique
In his response, Ibn Taymiyya categorizes the Nusayriyya among the extreme Batini sects, characterizing them as professing outward devotion to the Prophet’s family while concealing total disbelief (kufr) . He states that Muslim scholars have classified them under various related titles, including al-Malahida (the Heretics), al-Qaramita (the Qarmatians), al-Batiniyya, al-Isma'iliyya, and al-Khurramiyya . He argues that their theological system synthesizes philosophical concepts, Magian light-worship, and extreme Shi'i veneration, misinterpreting prophetic texts and relying on forged hadiths or esoteric treatises like the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa) to lead initiates gradually toward the denial of the Creator and all sacred laws (al-Balagh al-Akbar) .
Historically, Ibn Taymiyya accuses the sect of collaborating with external adversaries against Muslim states, asserting that they assisted the Crusaders in securing footholds along the Levantine coast and in Jerusalem before the Muslim reconquests led by Nur al-Din al-Shahid and Saladin . He also attributes the fall of Baghdad and the execution of the Abbasid caliph during the Mongol invasions to the influence and assistance of Batini figures, specifically citing Nasir al-Din al-Tusi .
Legal Rulings
Ibn Taymiyya sets out several legal determinations regarding the sect:
- Marriage and Slaughtered Meat: There is a scholarly consensus (ittifaq) that intermarriage with members of the sect is prohibited, and meat slaughtered by them is strictly unlawful (haram) and treated as carrion .
- Cheese and Rennet: He notes a disagreement among jurists regarding cheese prepared using rennet from their unslaughtered animals; Abu Hanifa and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (in one report) considered such cheese permissible because rennet does not die with the animal, whereas Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad (in another report) judged it impure (najas) .
- Utensils and Burial: Their utensils require washing prior to use if suspected of contact with forbidden meats, while garments and vessels not typically contaminated remain usable without washing, citing the practice of Umar ibn al-Khattab with Christian vessels . He strictly forbids offering funeral prayers over them or burying them in Muslim cemeteries, quoting the Quranic prohibition regarding hypocrites: وَلَا تُصَلِّ عَلَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم مَّاتَ أَبَدًا وَلَا تَقُمْ عَلَىٰ قَبْرِهِ (And never pray for any of them who dies, nor stand at his grave) [al-Tawbah: 84] .
- State Employment and Warfare: Ibn Taymiyya rules that it is a major sin for Muslim rulers to appoint them to defensive fortresses, garrisons, or standing armies, comparing it to assigning wolves to guard sheep . He commands rulers to purge them from military rosters and replace them with dependable Muslims . He treats the campaign against them as an urgent obligation akin to Abu Bakr's campaign during the Wars of Apostasy (Hurub al-Ridda), stating that disarming them, enforcing external Islamic obligations, and exposing their doctrines constitute essential aspects of commanding right and forbidding wrong (al-amr bi-l-ma'ruf wa-l-nahy 'an al-munkar) .
Publication
The treatise has been published as a standalone booklet under this modern title by Dar al-Ifta in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia . The title reflects the modern naming convention adopted during the French Mandate in Syria, when the administrative entity of the State of Alawites (Dawlat al-Alawiyin) was established .
Answer updated