Muhammad b. Nusayr al-Numayri
| One of the false claimants of prophethood and Ghulat | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Muhammad b. Nusayr al-Numayri |
| Teknonym | Abu Shu'ayb |
| Notable roles | Founder of Nusayriyya sect |
Muḥammad b. Nuṣayr al-Numayrī (Arabic: مُحَمّد بن نُصَیْر النُمَیْري) was one of the false claimants to prophethood who alleged that he was a messenger of Imam al-Hadi (a).[1] According to historians, he lived during the times of Imam al-Hadi (a) and Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a) and was cursed by Imam al-Hadi (a).[2] According to researchers, Muhammad b. Nusayr al-Numayri is among the founders of the Nusayriyya.[3] Al-Tabrisi, a Shi'a scholar, considered him one of the Ghulat (exaggerators) and Companions of Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a).[4]
According to Ibn Abi l-Hadid, after the martyrdom of Imam al-Askari (a), Muhammad b. Nusayr first claimed the deputyship of Imam al-Mahdi (a) and subsequently claimed babiyya (being the gate to the Imam) and divinity.[5] According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, following Muhammad b. Nusayr's claims of babiyya and divinity, Muhammad b. Uthman al-'Amri (one of the Four Deputies) forbade the Shi'a from associating with Muhammad b. Nusayr and cursed him.[6] According to al-Kashshi, Muhammad b. Musa b. Hasan b. Furat was one of his supporters in advancing his claims.[7]
Muhammad b. Nusayr al-Numayri has been regarded as one of the Ghulat. He believed in the divinity of Imam al-Hadi (a) and to have upheld doctrines such as reincarnation and exaggerated beliefs concerning the status of Imam al-Hadi (a).[8] According to researchers, his other beliefs included permitting incest (marriage with maharim) and homosexuality.[9]
According to al-Shaykh al-Tusi, Muhammad b. Nusayr suffered from a speech impediment at the time of death. When asked about his successor, he feebly replied "Ahmad" and passed away. Consequently, a dispute arose among his followers. Some interpreted his meaning as his son, Ahmad b. Muhammad; others considered his intention to be Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Musa b. Hasan b. Furat; and some others identified the person as Ahmad b. Abi Ḥusayn b. Bushayr b. Yazid.[10]
Some researchers consider the 'Alawis of the Levant to be followers of the Nusayriyya or Numayriyya and have regarded the term 'Alawis as a name change for the same sect.[11]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba, vol. 1, p. 398.
- ↑ Kashshī, Ikhtiyār maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 520; Ḥillī, Rijāl al-ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī, p. 254.
- ↑ Ḥājī-zāda, Jaryān-i fikrī-yi ghuluww, p. 131.
- ↑ Ṭabarsī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 474; Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba, vol. 1, p. 398.
- ↑ Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 8, p. 122.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba, vol. 1, p. 398.
- ↑ Kashshī, Ikhtiyār maʿrifat al-rijāl, vol. 1, p. 521.
- ↑ Khūʾī, Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth, vol. 18, p. 317.
- ↑ Khūʾī, Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth, vol. 18, p. 317.
- ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba, vol. 1, p. 399.
- ↑ Burūmand Aʿlam, Firqa-yi Nuṣayriyya, p. 42.
References
- Burūmand Aʿlam, ʿAbbās. "Firqa-yi Nuṣayriyya, az āghāz tā intiqāl-i daʿwat bih Shām". In Nāma-yi Tārīkh-pazhūhān. No. 5, Spring 1385 Sh.
- Ḥājī-zāda, Yadullāh. "Jaryān-i fikrī-yi ghuluww dar ʿaṣr-i ghaybat-i ṣughrā wa naqsh-i Ḥaḍrat-i Ḥujjat (ʿaj) dar muʿarrafī-yi ghāliyān". In Mashriq-i Mawʿūd. No. 36, Winter 1394 Sh.
- Ḥillī, al-Ḥasan b. Yūsuf al-ʿAllāma al-. Rijāl al-ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī. Qom, Al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1402 AH.
- Ibn Abī l-Ḥadīd, ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd. Sharḥ Nahj al-balāgha. Qom, Āyatullāh Marʿashī Najafī, 1404 AH.
- Kashshī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar al-. Ikhtiyār maʿrifat al-rijāl. Mashhad, Muʾassasa-yi Nashr-i Dānishgāh-i Mashhad, 1409 AH.
- Khūʾī, Sayyid Abū l-Qāsim al-. Muʿjam rijāl al-ḥadīth. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Khūʾī al-Islāmiyya, 1413 AH.
- Ṭabarsī, Ahmad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Iḥtijāj. Mashhad, Nashr-i Murtaḍā, 1403 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Ghayba. Qom, Dār al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, 1411 AH.