664 ISLAMIC MYSTICAL LITERATURE
Azazi'il seems to have developed from a figure of Jewish lore, Azazel, the chief
of the fallen angels (see 1 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Abraham), who also
makes an appearance among the Mandaeans and who is somewhat reminis-
cent of the gnostic demiurge Yaldabaoth.
The selection from the Mother of Books presented here includes the
major, revelatory section of the text, in which a revelation (in dialogue form)
about the origin and meaning of the world is given (from Baqir, as revealer,
to Jabir, as the recipient of the revelation and the dialogue partner who raises
questions). The names of many of the figures in the revelation are derived
from famous characters in Islamic and Shi'ite history. The revelation is a bril-
liant text of epic poetry, with mythic color, apocalyptic fire, and mystical
power. This revelation describes the glories, angels, and colors of the cosmic
realm, along with the god who remains exalted above it all. Beginning with a
long mystical exegesis of the Bismillah, the opening phrase of every sura in
the Qur'an ("In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful"), the
text proceeds to demonstrate its points with reference to proof texts in the
Qur'an and figures in Islamic lore. Throughout the revelation there are sec-
tions that relate the cosmogonic descriptions to the individual and to the inner
mystical quest for the divine. The revelation uses imagery that sometimes
brings to mind the opening chapters of Genesis and gnostic interpretations
of Genesis as it maintains that the world below comes from the arrogant, re-
bellious Azazi'il.
Eventually the world below literally becomes colorless. The benevolent will
of god for the cosmos and the people in the cosmos is realized, however,
through the actions of Salman, god's regent, who recalls the first human or
Sophia (wisdom) in gnostic texts and who is described, as is the first human in
many gnostic texts and Sophia in some gnostic texts (for example, Valentinian
texts), as a higher figure and a lower figure. At last, the text proclaims, people
may come to knowledge and be liberated. The Mother of Books provides four
conditions for such salvation; a postscript to the revelation, part of which is
presented here, adds an account of how the individual person may embrace
mystical knowledge. In the postscript it is said that the one who seeks perfect
knowledge will find it:
The one who knows arises
and testifies to spirit as to himself.
The student will be perfect, and ten spirits
are spoken for. God says, "These are the perfect ten."