The Epistles of Wisdom or Rasa'il al-Hikmah (Arabic: رَسَائِل ٱلْحِكْمَة) is a group of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze Faith.
Description
The Epistles of Wisdom were written in the Arabic language. They contain one hundred and eleven epistles in total. They are organised into six books first collected by one of the greatest Druze sages 'Abd-Allah Al-Tanukhi in 1479 AD.[1] According to oral traditions there were originally twenty-four books. Eighteen are reasonably assumed to have been lost, hidden or destroyed. Epistle number six is dated earliest and was written in July 1017 AD by Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad. He is specifically said as the author of thirty more epistles in the first two books. Epistles 109 and 110 are dated latest, written by Al-Muqtana Baha'uddin in 1042 AD. Epistles 36 to 40 are attributed to Isma'il al-Tamimi ibn Muhammad. The first epistle opens with the goodbye message from Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the original teacher of the Druze. He details his efforts to assist his people's welfare and peace and urges them to remain righteous.[2]
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