DRUZE ARAB ASCENDANCY

By Moustafa F. Moukarim

July 1994

Druze families who are living in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, originated from Arab tribes that lived in South Arabia. BEDOUIN tribes led a nomadic existence raising herds of camels, sheep, and goats.

Caravan trade linking the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean traversed this Bedouin territory and served as an important source of income.

Mecca was the birthplace (570 AD) of the man who was to become known as the Prophet MOHAMMED.

In the year 610 AD, Mohammed had the first of many experiences that he came to understand as divine revelations, calling upon him to preach to his people a monotheistic religion based on the worship of the one God, the belief in a day of judgment, and the giving of alms for the support of the poor.

Mohammed was recognized by many as a prophet of God and the leader of a community that regarded him as a lawgiver, judge, and military leader. At his death in 632 AD this community, which called its religion ISLAM and the believers Muslims, possessed the record of Mohammed’s revelations collected in the KORAN.

The migration (HEGIRA) to Medina in 622 AD was regarded as the beginning of the Muslim era. The conquered populations gradually accepted Islam as their religion and, in most parts of the empire, Arabic as their language.

The volunteer Bedouin army of the Islam, filled with enthusiasm for their new religion and for the spoils that they shared after victory, soon carried their battles beyond Arabia.

Under the second caliph, UMAR (634-44 AD), the Arab conquest of the Middle East began in earnest. All of Syria had fallen to the Muslims by 637 AD, Mesopotamia was overrun by 639 AD, and Egypt was conquered between 639 and 642 AD.

In 641 AD the final defeat of the Persians at the Battle of Nahavand signaled the end of the Sassanian dynasty. In less than ten years the Muslim Arabs had conquered all of the Middle East except for Anatolia.

The originals of the presently known Druze families were among the Arab tribes that conquered the Eastern regions of the Mediterranean Sea. They settled in the Mountains and formed a defending line against invaders from the west.

DRUZE is a name our families "Muw'he'deen" became known by. Because they joined the Call "Da'wa". They were in the beginning, the followers of a missionary called Nash'ta'kin al-Darazy, who was one of the early recruits to the Call. When he revolted against the "Imam" of the faith Hamza bin-Ali, and declared himself the chief guide of the call, and to attract more followers he decreed new laws encouraging sins and promising total freedom of action without regard to moral or religious obligation.

The faithful followers of the Call did not like his methods, and to preserve and restore the true teachings of the new faith, they revolted against him. In 1019 AD Al-Darazy was killed and his followers were defeated.

The Call "Dawa" to Unitarianism "Taw'heed" faith started in 1017 AD in Egypt by Al-Hakim bi amr Allah (the ruler in the name of God) the sixth Caliph of the Fatimid Empire. He appointed his principal missionaries "Du'at". They consisted of five, described as the five Spiritual Luminaries or Dignitaries "Hudud".

They were:-

1. Hamza Bin Ali, known as "Al-Aql" the Universal Mind.

2. Ismail Mohammed al-Tamimi, known as "Al-Nafs" the Universal Soul.

3. Mohammed Wahb al-Qurashi, known as "Al-Kalima" the Word.

4. Salama Abdel-Wahab al Samurri, known as "Al-Sabiq" the Antecedent or Cause.

5. Al-Muqtana Baha al-Deen, known as "Al-Tali" the Successor or Affect.

The Call "Da'wa" was closed 1042 AD and the Spiritual Luminaries "Dw'at" went into retirement. The teaching were recorded in one hundred and eleven messages, written in six volumes and called "Al-Hikma" the Wisdom. They called for Unitarianism "Taw'heed" which is:

A. The Absolute oneness of GOD. Who is beyond the comprehension of human understanding. Who rises above language and thought and does not come under any name, characteristic, or expression.

B. GOD cannot be defined by words, for words convey what is grasped by the senses, reason or imagination. His existence cannot be apprehended by the most profound reflection and meditation.

C. GOD is without like and without opposite, eternal without a beginning, abiding without end. He is in every age and place, not limited by bounds of time and space. He is one but not in number. Single without any similar.

D. GOD is the creator who produced from His light all things, to whom all shall return. He is the only Existent. He is that He is, the Self-Subsistent. This self-sufficiency is the essence of His unity. Recognition of His Unity without seeking to understand the Nature of His Being is the foundation of the believer's faith.

E. Confession of "Taw'heed" Unitarianism, is the highest aim, the most precious treasure, the noblest attainment; it is the balance of the truth by which the heaven and the earth are sustained.

The Call "Da'wa" organized the social order by which the faithful should live, into Seven Commandments:

1. A truthful tongue.

2. Cultivation and protection of the brethren.

3. Excision of fallacies and falsehoods.

4. Rejection of the villain and aggressor.

5. Adoration of the LORD in every era and at all times.

6. Cheerful acceptance of whatever comes from Him.

7. Spontaneous submission to His will.

It is believed that during the persecution of the believers in Unitarianism, Unitarians "Muwa'he'deen" after the call, considerable portions of the Scriptures were scattered, destroyed, or hidden away. Unitarians also believe in Reincarnation.

According to Unitarianism belief, all human Souls were created at once, their number is fixed for all time, it is not subject to decrease or increase.

Upon death, the Soul is immediately reborn only into another human body, the body serving as envelop or robe to the Soul.

The process of transmigration goes on to the end of time. In the process Souls rise through their attachment to a higher degree of excellence, or deteriorate to become degraded by neglecting the teachings of religion. All Souls are created with an equal tendency to good and evil and are free to choose between right and wrong.

The Soul in its repeated transmigration experiences all conditions of life; fortune and misfortune, riches and poverty, health and illness, etc.. Souls are thereby given repeated opportunity to redeem themselves. DIVINE JUSTICE IS THUS ESTABLISHED.

The Ever recurring life and the Spirit's uninterrupted contact with THE UNIVERSAL MIND "AL-AQL" rises its stock of knowledge and strengthens its awareness of cosmic truth, which, after all, is the road to eternal happiness, the goal of all ideal goals.

The doctrine of reincarnation makes thinking the exclusive function of the mind. It does not say that the Soul identifies itself throughout the generations nor does it say that the Soul carries the memory of one generation to the next.

Self identification by the Soul, according to Unitarianism "Taw'heed" occurs only once, that is, on the last day Judgment day" which no one but He knows when.

As for creation, Unitarians believe that The Lord said: "LET IT BE AND IT WAS"

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