The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts of Mystical Wisdom form the Ancient and Medieval Worlds

INTRODUCTION

MARVIN MEYER

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In the final two parts of this volume we present literary texts of two tradi-

tions that are somewhat later in origin than the traditions of gnosis we have

encountered thus far. These texts of Islamic mysticism and Cathar dualism are

powerful examples of later gnostic or neomanichaean literature. In this part

we consider Islamic mystical literature in general, and the Mother of Books in

particular, as an example of the rich and diverse mystical heritage of Islam.

MUHAMMAD THE SEAL OF THE PROPHETS

In the cultural and religious mix of late sixth-century Arabia, Muhammad was
born into the Hashimite clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca. The religious cli-
mate of Arabia during his day was substantially Semitic, with a variety of ex-
pressions. The faiths of Arabia were faiths of the desert, faiths that developed
from Babylonian and Zoroastrian roots and from Jewish and Christian faiths
of one sort or another. Caravans had traversed the trade routes of Arabia for a
very long time, and with the caravans came cultural traditions and connec-
tions. Hence, some of the deities of Arabia had even been accorded Greco-
Roman names and identities.
In Mecca three such goddesses were called daughters of the god Allah.
These goddesses are al-Lat, a mother goddess who may be linked to the sun;
al-Manat, the goddess of fate; and al-Uzza, the goddess of the morning star.
Al-Uzza—sometimes connected to Venus (Aphrodite), Fortuna, and Isis—
ruled the stone city of Petra, with Dushara, and the three daughters of Allah
still assert themselves in Salman Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses. Allah, in
turn, was the creator god. His name means "god" or "the god," and he was wor-
shiped in Mecca by Muhammad and the members of the Quraysh tribe.