AL-FEHREST or Ket b al-fehrest, a celebrated catalogue of books in Arabic, drafted in 377/987 by Ebn al-Nad m. i. The Author and His Work. ii. Middle Persian to Arabic Translations. iii. Representation of Manicheism. i. THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORK LIFE OF THE AUTHOR Abu'l-Faraj Mohammad b. Abu Ya‘q3b Esh4q al-Warr4q al-Nad m, wrongly but almost invariably called Ebn al-Nad m (the correct form is simply al- Nad m; see Ebn al-Nadim, tr. Dodge, p. xv-xvi; Mak3r, pp. 343-46), was born probably in Baghdad ca. 320/932 and died there on Wednesday, 20 Ša‘b4n 380/12 November 990. Some scholars regard him as a Persian (Gray, p. 24; Nicholson, p. 362), but this is not certain. However, his choice of the rather rare Persian word pehrest/ fehrest/ fehres/ fahrasat (cf. comments by W. Henning quoted in Borh n-e Q te’, ed. M. Mo‘ n , p. 1509, n. 1) for the title of a handbook on Arabic literature is noteworthy in this regard. Like his father, Ebn al-Nad m earned a living by copying and selling books, hence his nomen professionis of al-warr q, or occasionally al-k teb (Ebn Ab Osaybe‘a, p. 91). Both father and son were men of considerable distinction and social standing. Ebn al-Nad m's large bookstore in Baghdad appears to have been a popular meeting place for scholars. Having acquired an unusually extensive education, he cultivated ties with the luminaries of Baghdad learned society, counting among his teachers and informants such savants as the poet ‘Al b. H4r3n Monajjem, the anthologist Abu'l-Faraj Esfah4n (q.v.), the Jacobite Christian philosopher Yahy4 b. ‘Ad , the grammarian Ab3 Sa’id S ra4f , the literary historian Ab3 ‘ObaydAll4h Marzob4n , and the logician and translator of philosophical books from Syriac into Arabic HJasan b. Sow4r, known also as Ebn al-Kamm4r (see Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, index). He heard hJJadith from Esm4‘il SJaff4r and was also a friend of the philosopher Ab3 Solaym4n Mohammad b. TJ4her b. Bahr4m MantKeq Sejest4n , whom he addresses as "our master" (šayk'on ) or simply as "the master" (šayk'). The priest Y3nos Qass gave the author of the Fehrest (Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, p. 25) information about the Christian scriptures, and so did Abu'l-HJasan Mohammad b. Y3sof [N4qet] Pmer N š4p3r (q.v.), a scholar of Arabic and Greek, who was in Baghdad when the Fehrest was begun (ibid., pp. 27-28). It was probably Ebn al-Nad m's association with the logician ‘Rs4 b. ‘Al , the son of the vizier ‘Al b. ‘Rs4 (q.v.) in Baghdad, or his attendance at the court of N4sJer-al-Dawla (d. 358/968), the ruler of Mosul, which brought him the title al-nad)m, "the companion." Reynold A. Nicholson's suggestion (p. 362) that this may signify his family ties with EshJ4q b. Ebr4h m Nad m Mawsel was rejected by Johann Fück (EI2, III, p. 895). Although broad-minded and careful in religious matters, Ebn al-Nad m preferred Imami Shi‘ism, and—not unusual for the times—was also an advocate of the Mu’tazilite doctrine (Y4q3t, Odab ’ VI, p. 408; Ebn HJajar, V, p. 72), to which he devoted a large part of the fifth chapter of the Fehrest. He was the author of another book, now lost, entitled al-Aws' f wa'l-tašb)h t (Y4q3t, ibid; Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, p. 14), on the merit of books and on writing and its instruments. THE BOOK The Fehrest, intended to be a catalogue including all books, lecture notebooks, papers, etc., available in the Arabic language at the time of the author, developed into a unique specimen of literature, an encyclopedia or a compendium of the knowledge possessed by a learned Muslim in 10th century Baghdad. Not only is it a valuable reference source for the culture of medieval Islam and the literary men who represented it, but it also gives precious information about the heritage of antiquity available to the Muslims. The Fehrest contains miscellaneous pieces of rare information. In many cases, our only information on certain early authors and their works comes from this book. Often blank spaces have been purposely left in the text for later additions, with a request addressed to the readers to add whatever information the author might have overlooked (Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, p. 244). The collected notes were arranged thematically and in chronological sequence in ten discourses (maq l t), each subdivided into several sections: (1) on the revealed Scriptures of Muslims, Jews and Christians, with an emphasis on the Koran and Koranic sciences; (2) on Arabic grammarians and philologists; (3) on historians, biographers, epistolographers, and genealogists; (4) on poetry and poets; (5) on theology and Muslim sects; (6) on jurisprudence (feqh), legal authorities, and hJadith; (7) on philosophy, logic,
mathematics, astronomy and medicine; (8) on legends, fables, charms, conjuring, magic, sorcery, talismans and the like; (9) on the doctrines of the non-monotheistic religions (Sabians, Manicheans, Mazdakites and other dualists) and the creeds of India, China, and other countries; and (10) on alchemy. Following the historical methodology current at the time, Ebn al-Nad m looked for the origin of each science he dealt with and continued its history up to his own period. His introductory remarks on the art of writing reveal his attempt to be exhaustive, and present a fascinating model of conciseness and research on the distribution, history and characteristics of languages and scripts of different peoples (Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, pp. 7-23). Each discourse begins with a general introductory survey, as on the early stages of Arabic grammar (ibid., pp. 45-47), or the beginnings of philosophy (ibid., pp. 299-303). Generally, a short biographical notice on the authors is followed by a list of their works. Ebn al-Nad m attempts to give an objective picture of the authors he names, making detached observations based on reliable material. Occasionally a list is dedicated to publications on a particular theme, as for example the literature on Koranic exegesis (ibid., pp. 36-37), on love stories (ibid., pp. 366-67), or on fairy tales (ibid., p. 375). In the ninth maq la, a treatise on the history of religion, the bibliographical announcements occupy only a minor place. Curiously he left out Mazdaism altogether, although his discussion of Old Iranian writings shows that he was familiar with Mazdakite sources. The last four discourses focus on the Arabic translations from Greek, Persian, Syriac and other languages, together with books composed in Arabic on the model of these translations. These sections are detailed enough to be considered a veritable history of literature. Some information about the sources of the Fehrest may be extracted from the book itself. Apparently several such "catalogues" on specific topics or the works of individual authors had been in circulation prior to Ebn al-Nad m. Among these he names a fehrest kab)r and a fehrest s'ag)r that J4ber b. HJayy4n had made of his writings (Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, pp. 421-23), a fehrest by YahJy4 b. ‘Ad of Aristotle's books (ibid., pp. 311, 312), another by Moháammad b. Zakar y4 R4z of his own works (ibid., pp. 357-59) and an inventory HJonayn b. EshJ4q had penned of his own translations from Galen's writings (ibid., p. 353; this has survived, see EI2, s. v. "HJunayn b. IshJ4k al-‘Ib4d "). Works of this kind had until then been mostly restricted to collections of biographies of authors and poets, such as the Ket b al-mo’allef)n (Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, p. 163) of Ebn Ab TJ4her TJayf3r, Ket b akb r al-šo‘ar al-kab)r of H4r3n b. ‘Al b. YahJy4 (ibid., p. 161), or the Agh n) (ibid., p. 128) of Abu’l-Faraj Esfah4n . Ebn al-K3f , whom the Fehrest mentions as a source many times, may have composed a list of authors using preliminary work done by Ebn al-Kalb and Mad4’en (see Lippert, p. 155). Ebn al-Nad m had probably examined personally many of the books which he records, though at times he also furnishes the names of his trustworthy informants. Later bio-bibliographical authors such as Y4q3t, Ebn al-Qeft , Ebn Ab OsKaybe‘a, Ebn Kallek4n, Kotob , and HJ4jj Kal fa are all heavily dependent on the Fehrest for information. Y4q3t (Odab ’ VI, p. 197) averred that he used a copy of the Fehrest in the handwriting of Ebn al-Nad m himself and also an expanded copy provided by Waz r Abu'l-Q4sem Maghreb . The material in the Fehrest dating after the year 380/990 (e.g., Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, pp. 95, 146, 149, 195) very likely originated from the pen of Maghreb . Bibliography (for cited works not given in detail, see "Short References"): Editions of the Fehrest: (1) G. Flügel, ed., 2 vols., Leipzig, 1871-72 (published after Flügel's death by J. Roediger and A. Müller; the first volume contains the text, the second an extensive commentary and references); reprinted Cairo, 1348/1929; Cairo, ca. 1380/1960 (incl. the Leiden Fragments publ. by M. T. Houtsma, 1890); Beirut, 1964. (2) R. Tajaddod, ed., Tehran, 1971 (a new edition based on better manuscripts; the edition used for references in this article); 2nd ed., 1973 (reviewed with valuable suggestions for emendations by Y. H®. al-Bakka@r, "NazJar4t f Fehrest Ebn al-Nad m," El h)y t-e Mašhad 5, 1351 Š./1973, pp. 189-228; and by M. J. Maæku@r, "al-Fehrest," R4hnam4-ye ket b 15, 1351 ˆ./1973, pp. 263-73, 449-59). (3) N. ‘A ‘OtJm4n, ed., "An Edition of Kit b al-Fihrist by Ibn al-Nad m (d. 380/990) based on the version of RidJa Tajaddud," Ph.D. diss., Exeter, 1983, pub. as al-Fehrest le-Ebn al-Nad)m: s'ey g h'ad)ta, Qatar, 1985 (with book titles arranged alphabetically under authors' names, and sometimes with information added about existing manuscripts or editions). (4) ˆ. Kal fa and W. M. al-‘Awza, ed., as al-Fehrest le-Ebn al-Nad)m, 2 vols., Cairo, 1991 (the first volume has a long introduction on Ebn al-Nad m, the manuscripts of the Fehrest, all its editions and a statistical study of its contents; the second volume, a total of 964 pages, consists of various indices). Translations: R. Tajaddod, tr. as Ket b al-fehrest, Tehran, 1343 Š./1965; 2nd rev. ed., 1346 ˆ./1967. B. Dodge, tr. as The Fihrist of al-Nad)m: A Tenth-Century Survey of Muslim Culture, 2 vols., New York, 1970 (Dodge's introduction brings together the scanty information on Ebn al-Nad m and gives a description of all known manuscripts). (RUDOLF SELLHEIM and MOHSEN ZAKERI)
ii. IRANIAN MATERIAL IN THE FEHREST The Fehrest gives ample testimony to the knowledge of pre-Islamic Persia and its literature in classical Islamic civilization, but unfortunately only a minute sample of the numerous Persian books listed by Ebn al-Nad m is extant. In the chapter on languages and scripts the author quotes, among other things, a passage from Ebn alMoqaffa‘ (q.v.) about the languages of the Persians (Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, p. 15; all subsequent textual references are to this edition), followed by a description of their various styles of script, some of them illustrated by tables, unfortunately hopelessly corrupt in the existing editions (pp. 15-16). Ebn alMoqaffa‘ is apparently also the source for an accurate description of the Middle Persian system of ideograms (p. 17), illustrated by the Pahlavi spellings BSLY’ (for g7št, "meat") and LHJM’ (for n n, "bread"). The same chapter contains descriptions of Manichaean (p. 19) and Sogdian (p. 20) scripts, both illustrated by their alphabets. In the chapter on scribes and bureaucrats there is a biography of Ebn al-Moqaffa‘ and a list of the Persian books that he translated into Arabic, among them K'od' y-n ma, 8’)n-n ma (q.v.), Ket b Mazdak, Ket b alt j f) s)rat An;šerw n (p. 132). This is followed by a shorter entry on Ab4n L4hJeq , and the books that he translated into Arabic rhymed couplets, among them Kal)la wa Demna, S)rat Ardaš)r, S)rat Anu;šerw n, Belawhar wa-B;d' saf (see BARLAAM AND IOSAPH). The author returns to Ab4n L4hJeq in the chapter on poetry (p. 186), adding to the previous list of translations the titles Ket b Sendb d' and Ket b Mazdak. At the beginning of the chapter on philosophy Ebn al-Nad m gives, mainly from Ab3 Sahl b. NawbakJt and Ab3 Ma‘š4r BalkJ (qq.v.), a for the most part legendary account of the scientific knowledge of the ancient Persians and of how some primeval Persian writings on occult matters had recently been unearthed in Isfahan (pp. 299-302). This is followed by a somewhat more factual account of Persian translations of Greek books made during the Sasanian period and of how some of the books on logic and medicine which had formerly been translated into Persian were later rendered from Persian into Arabic by Ebn al-Moqaffa‘ "and others" (pp. 302-3). A few pages later (p. 305) there is a long list of those who translated from Persian to Arabic, but with few details of titles. Some books translated from Persian, or from "Indian" via Persian, are mentioned at the end of the chapter on medicine (p. 360). The chapter devoted to what the author rather dismissively calls "bed-time stories" (asm r) and "fables" (k'oraf ’) contains a large amount of Persian material. Ebn al-Nad m begins (p. 363) by mentioning Ket b haz r afs n (q.v.; "Book of the thousand stories"), the ancestor of the Thousand and One Nights, and gives a summary of its well-known frame story about Queen Šahr4z4d. Several other books of similar nature are named. Concerning Kal)la wa Demna and Ket b Sendb d al-h'ak)m Ebn al-Nad m says that it is debated whether they were composed by the Indians or the Persians; of the latter he knew two versions, a long one and a short one (p. 364). There follows a list of ten books of "Persian bed-time stories," including Ket b haz r dast n (sic; different from the aforementioned Haz r afs n?); the remaining titles are otherwise unknown. The next section gives titles of books dealing with lives of Persian kings, including a book about Rostam and Esfand 4r (q.v.), translated by Jabala b. S4lem; one about Bahr4m ^_b n (q.v.), from the same translator; a book about Šahr z4d (read: Šahrbar4z?) and Abarw`z; a Ket b k rn maj f) s)rat An;šerw n; a story about D4r4 and the golden idol; one about Bahr4m and Narseh; and some of the titles already mentioned in the section on Ebn al-Moqaffa‘. Under the following heading "books of the Indians about fables" etc., he again discusses Kal)la wa Demna, saying that it was "interpreted" by Ebn al-Moqaffa‘ "and others" and rendered into Arabic verse by Ab4n L4hJeq and one ‘Al b. D4’3d. Then he adds that "the poets of the Persians (al-‘ajam) have reworked this book in poetry and translated it into the Persian language in Arabic (script?)," referring, no doubt, to R3dak ; this appears to be the only explicit reference to NeoPersian literature in the whole of the Fehrest. The Indian list continues with reference to the long and short versions of the book of Sendb4d, the book of B3dJ4saf and Belawhar, etc. In the chapter on anonymous works of assorted content there is a section on "Persian, Indian, Byzantine, and Arab books on sexual intercourse in the form of titillating stories" (p. 376), but the Persian works are not separated from the others; the list includes a "Book of Bahr4m-dokJt on intercourse." This is followed by books of Persians, Indians, etc. on fortune telling, books of "all nations" on horsemanship and the arts of war, then (p. 377) on horse doctoring and on falconry, some of them specifically attributed to the Persians. Then (pp. 377-78) we have books of wisdom and admonition by the Persians and others, including many examples of Persian andarz (q.v.) literature, e.g., various books attributed to An3šerv4n, Ardaš r (q.v.), etc.
The chapter on non-Muslim sects, after detailed accounts of the HJarr4nians and Manichaeans, discusses various religious movements with their roots in the Iranian past, among them KJorram ya and Mazdakites (pp. 405-6), the followers of B4bak KJorram (pp. 406-7) and of Ab3 Moslem KJor4s4n (pp. 407-8; qq.v.). Bibliography: given in the article. (FRANÇOIS DE BLOIS) iii. THE REPRESENTATION OF MANICHEISM IN THE FEHREST MohJammad b. EshJ4q b. Ab Ya‘q3b al-Nad m al-Warr4q al-Bagd4d included in his Fehrest al-‘ol;m an extensive account of Manicheism, which gives details about Mani's life, teachings, and the fate of the Manicheans in the Islamic countries. The account is comparable to some non-Manichean descriptions of Manicheism: the Acta Archelai, which, however, narrates Mani's life as an anti-legend; the account of Theodor bar K_nai’s in his Scholia, limited to cosmogony; and most accurately with the shorter, more consistently philosophical stylised accounts of Šahrast4n in his Ket b al-melal wa'l-neh'al and of Ebn alMortazJ4 in the Ket b al-bah'r al-zak r on the teachings of the Manicheans. The account in the Fehrest is the most extensive, varied, and reliable non-Manichean description of Mani and his teachings, and it is of the highest value for research on Manicheism even after the discovery of numerous Manichean original sources. Ebn al-Nad^m writes that he had known around 300 Manicheans in Bagdad at the time of the Buyid Mo‘ezz-al-Dawla (334-56/945-67), but at the time of writing (ca. 377/987-88) there were "hardly more than five" there (tr. Dodge, p. 803). This reduction in the number of Manicheans in the capital of Islam almost to the point of disappearance enabled his account of them to become a work of scientifichistorical dimensions. It was easier for the author to report objectively, unpolemically, and to the best of his knowledge on a foreign, often persecuted, religion which had almost disappeared. An overview of the content of Ebn al-Nad^m's chapter on the Manicheans is given in tabular form. The table offers a synopsis of the most important editions and translations of the text, and it may be used to locate passages in Flügel's now outdated edition corresponding to those cited in this article. A detailed account of the contents has also been given by E. G. Browne (Lit. Hist. Persia I, pp. 384-87). Sources. An unfortunate consequence of the dwindling presence of the Manicheans in Baghdad was the decreasing knowledge of their teachings. Ebn al-Nad m names the books and letters by Mani and his followers known to him (tr. Dodge, pp. 797-801). They are: (1) Ket b sefr al-asr r (The Book of Secrets). (2) Ket b sefr al-jab bera (The Book of Giants). (3) Ket b far ’ez' al-sam ‘)n (The Book of the Duties of Auditors) as well as Ket b far ’ez' al-mojtab)n (The Book of the Duties of the Elect; Ebn al-Nad m, ed. Tajaddod, p. 399, l. 24). Flügel identified the first of these as the Kephalaia (Flügel, 1862, p. 363), but both titles listed have exact Iranian correspondents—Sogd. Ni š k ne wi’v "The Homily of the Auditors" (Henning, 1944, p. 137) and Parth. Wi‘)dag n saxwan "The Homily of the Chosen" (cf. Sundermann, 1984, p. 229). (4) The Š buhrag n (Ar. *Š borq n). (5) Ket b sefr al-eh'y ("The Book of Animating" according to Flügel, Mani, pp. 367-68; the "Living Gospel," or, more probably, the "Treasure of Life"). (6) Ket b feraqm t'ay (The Book of Pragmateia). Then Ebn al-Nad m names the titles of 76 (?) letters, which could have been the content of the collection of the Epistles of Mani, i. e. one of the canonical texts of the Manicheans (the seventh in this list). That does not necessarily mean that these are solely the letters of Mani, which would be grammatically possible but contradictory to Ebn al-Nad m's words. Manichean sources mention a pentad or heptad of canonical texts but never include the Middle Persian Š buhrag n (Henning, 1952, pp. 204-5). The chapters of the aforementioned "Book of Secrets" and the Š buhrag n are named, so one must assume Ebn al-Nad m had a detailed knowledge of these works. Certainly, further information on the "Book of Giants" and other texts could have been lost in the manuscript transmission. The eschatalogical chapters of the Š buhrag n on the fates of the auditors, the elect, and sinners after death are also mentioned (tr. Dodge, p. 798). This fits in with F. W. K. Müller's realization that an exact correspondence between the apocalyptic damnation of the sinners in the Fehrest and in the MP fragments of the Š buhrag n exists (Müller, pp. 2022). B r3n ’s statement that a chapter "On the coming of the Prophet" (b b maj)’ al-ras;l) belonged to the Š buhrag n proves, however, that the eschatological fragments cannot be the whole work (8t r, p. 118, l. 15). Carsten Colpe justifiedly tried to derive whole sections of the Fehrest (individual, cosmic eschatology, role of the sons of the Living Spirit) from the Š buhrag n (Colpe, 1954, pp. 124, 218-20). Could the author of the Fehrest have directly referred to these texts as sources for his presentation? This supposition is supported by the fact that Ebn al-Nad m elsewhere describes and even reproduces the alphabet of the holy books of the Central Asian Manicheans (tr. Dodge, pp. 32-33; ed. Tajaddod, p. 19). The letters in the extant manuscripts are mostly damaged beyond recognition, but this does not speak
against Ebn al-Nad m's reliability. On the other hand, one can prove that he followed at least one Arabic source extensively. It is unlikely that he used additional Modern and Middle Persian and Aramaic texts. The different, "western" terminology (Colpe, 1954, p. 124) of the Fehrest-presentation speaks against a direct use of the Š buhrag n. It is clear, even if Ebn al-Nad m does not say it, that his presentation depends at least in the sections Cosmogony, Ethics, Commandments, Events after Death, and End of the World on a lost text of Ab3 ‘Rs4 Warr4q (Colpe, 1959, pp. 82-91; Vajda, tr. Widengren, pp. 454-76). Ab3 ‘Rs4's text itself contained citations from the Š buhrag n, Mani's Gospel and perhaps other canonical texts. The sources of other sections of the Fehrest cannot be identified with certainty. Unfortunately Ebn al-Nad^m differentiated between his sources only generally. When describing Manichean teachings he introduces all sections with q la (M n)) "he/Mani said". Sections dealing with Mani's life or the history of the Manicheans after Mani are introduced with wa q)la "and it has been said" and q lat al-m naw)ya "the Manicheans have said." Here the author, or his source, was using perhaps noncanonical writings (eg. hagiographic homilies) or was relying on oral information. The author refers to his information on Mani's genealogy and the dating of his public appearance as his own summaries or calculatons: q la Moh'ammad ebn Esh' q "Moháammad b. EshJ4q said." References to sources in Iranian languages. If Ebn al-Nad m's information does also go back to the Š buhrag n, i.e. a Middle Persian work, we can expect references to a Persian model in the text of the Fehrest. Hans Jacob Polotsky had reported Walter B. Henning's observation that in the description of "Satan" the feet are described as "reptilian" (daw bb, ed. Tajaddod, p. 393, l. 7), which could have been the result of a confusion of MP dAwag "worm" with dAw "demon" (Polotsky, col. 250; Widengren, pp. 113-14; otherwise, unconvincingly, tr. Dodge, p. 778 with n. 157). It has been pointed out that the concept "the righteous ones" (s'edd)q;n), i. e. the electi, could be translated from an Iranian tradition where they were called ard w n (Böhlig and Asmussen, p.334, n. 3), which is not compelling. One may also mention that in the story of Adam and the Adamites two of his descendants are called by the Persian names Fary d and Bar-fary d, "cry for help" and "bring help" (ed. Tajaddod, p. 395, ll. 5 + 6; differently tr. Dodge, p. 784). In other cases it is possible to compare terms of the Fehrest with their Iranian correspondents. But the possibility cannot be excluded that they are translations from the Aramaic. The "Mother of Life" is called "Happiness" (al-bahja, ed. Tajaddod, p. 393, l. 20, tr. Dodge, p. 780 reads al-bah)ja "the Happy One"). Bahja can be compared with the Sogdian name r mr tox vai (M 172 /I/r/18/) if this literally means "the god Sense of Joy" (pointed out by N. Sims-Williams, oral communication). The Fehrest mentions as a failing of auditors "being in two minds" (al-q) m be hemmatayn; ed. Tajaddod, p. 96, p. 396, l. 23; explained in the Fehrest as religious doubt). This corresponds exactly to MP pad d7 manohmed Ast dan (attested in the Hermas fragment, cf. Colpe, 1972, p. 412 and n. 2). Somewhat more distantly related is Aramaic plyg br‘yn’ "ambiguous in opinion" (mentioned by Polotsky and Schmidt, 1933, p. 68, n. 4). The party name al-m s)ya could have arisen in Iranian circles (ed. Tajaddod, p. 394, l. 20, tr. Dodge, p. 783), if it comes from Sogdian m se "old" and means the "party of the old-believers", which makes good sense (they professed the teaching of the irredemptibility of a part of the Light-soul), but needs historical justification (Flügel, Mani, p. 242, derives the word from a personal name). Ebn al-Nad m certainly knew about the Central Asian Manicheans. From there, he was acquainted with the Manichean script (and cf. the place names in tr. Dodge, p. 803). It is also asserted here that the Sogdian Manicheans were called aj r) (or j r); ed. Tajaddod, p. 401, l. 6), which one could also read ’ c r) and derive from (Buddh.) Skt. c rya"teacher, master" (Asmussen, p. 137), in the sense of the heresy of following a teacher (Flügel, 1862, p. 399, "wage labourer"; tr. Dodge, p. 803, n. 330 suggests "al-Bukh4r "). A particular East-Iranian influence on the legend of Mani's first meeting king Š4buhr I is assumed in J. Tubach's still unpublished article "Ostiranische Traditionen in der arabischen Überlieferung bei Ibn an-Nad m." Structure of the Manichean chapter. The author seems to have used two sometimes contrary principles in the structuring of his description of Mani and his teachings: (1) the desire to present the material logically and coherently, (2) the preservation of traditional pieces. The first principle is apparent in the sequence of the five portions of the text: (1) Mani's biography until his public appearance, (2) Mani's teachings from cosmogony to commandments and the innovations after his death, (3) Mani's end and eschatology, (4) Mani's writings, (5) history of the Manicheans in the Islamic era. The second principle resulted in the description of the worlds of light and darkness being given (tr. Dodge on p. 777 and then repeated with more detail on pp. 786-87). The description of Mani's end and the final evaluation of his personality in the
passage on the reprimands of the Meql s')ya against the Mehr)ya seem strangely out of place in the manuscripts (see also Flügel, Mani, pp. 99-100). But, in fact, the two are to be separated (thus correctly tr. Dodge, p. 794) and Mani's end is to be connected rather with the presentation of Manichean eschatology. Two differing versions of the liberation of the primal man from the power of darkness are given one after the other: (1) the "Friend of the Lights" (h'ab)b al-anw r), i.e., the first divinity of the second evocation redeems the primal man (tr. Dodge, pp. 779-80); (2) the "Spirit of Life", i.e., the third figure of the second evocation, completes the task along with the "Mother of Life" (tr. Dodge, p. 780). The second version is the usual one. The first appears only here in the Manichean tradition. Hagiographic traditions. The presentation of Mani's life contains noticably more variants than that of his teachings. Ebn al-Nad^m gives three variants for the name of Mani's mother (tr. Dodge, p. 773). There are also three descriptions of Mani's death (tr. Dodge, p. 794). This is due less to the difficulty of correctly preserving personal names and historical events than to the fact that there was no canonical account of the life of the prophet. Instead its parts were constantly re-arranged, enlarged and corrupted by the following generations. It is possibly due to the sources available to Ebn al-Nad m that the information on the larger, second part of Mani's life becomes steadily scanter. The division of Mani's life into periods of twelve years, characteristic of the hagiographically stylised story of his life, is most apparent in the account of the Fehrest. The Fehrest is the only account to mention that the revelation of his spiritual twin occurred with the completion of his 12th year (cf. Sundermann, 1981, pp. 18-19) as well as that the command to proselytize was given by the twin when he was 24 (tr. Dodge, pp. 775-76, cf. Koenen and Römer, pp. 10-13). It does not mention, however, Mani's death at the age of sixty. On the contrary, if the assertion of the Fehrest that Mani had spread his teachings for "about" forty years as far as China (tr. Dodge, p. 776) before he met King Š4buhr I rested on a secure tradition, then this must have happened when he was 24 plus 40, i.e., 64 years old. (The proposal of Maricq, pp. 257-58, n. 2, that arba‘)n in the text be emended to arba‘a "four" is problematic in view of the enormous extension assumed by Ebn al-Nad^m of this journey.) As we can see, the impressive reconstruction of the myth of Mani's life by Henning (in Taqizadeh, 1957, pp. 115-21) has not yet been found complete in any work of the Manichean or non-Manichean tradition (cf. Sundermann, 1986). That material of antiquity and historical value is to be found among the hagiographically stylised information of the Fehrest is shown by a tradition which was once doubted but has since been verified by the Cologne Mani Codex (Koenen-Römer, pp. 66 ff.). Mani's father joined the baptist sect, the mogtasela (tr. Dodge, p. 774). Another passage of the Fehrest, which names the leader of the sect al-H'as)h' (Flügel, Mani, pp. 132-34; tr. Dodge, p. 811; ed. Tajaddod, p. 403-4), i.e. Elchasaios (Sundermann, 1974, pp. 14849; de Blois, pp. 55-56), shows this to be Elchasaits of the Cologne Mani Codex. The description of Mani's first historical appearance (tr. Dodge, p. 775) also has a historical basis. It has a parallel closer to the events in the "Cologne Mani Codex" (Koenen-Römer, pp. 10-13, 74-75), and both accounts can now be dated to the year 240 (Henrichs and Koenen; cf. Sundermann, 1990, pp. 295-99). Among the various accounts of Mani's passion and end, Ebn al-Nad m (tr. Dodge, p. 794) mentions the historically correct one of his death in prison (cf. Puech, pp. 51-53). It is remarkable that the topos of "Mani the Painter," which in other Islamic accounts has almost replaced that of the founder of a religion, does not appear in the Fehrest. Presentation of the teachings. Most Muslim scholars and poets who dealt with Manicheism in their writings were more interested in the person Mani than in his teachings, especially if they were praising him as a skilled painter. In the Fehrest it is the other way round. The description of Mani's teachings occupies the main part. The high reliability of the account can be demonstrated in several ways. Ebn al-Nad^m describes in detail the good deeds of the cosmic Elements of Light for the terrestrial world (tr. Dodge, pp. 780-81). He mentions the "pleasantness and refreshment" (men al-ladda wa'l-tafr)h'; ed. Tajaddod, p. 393, l. 24) afforded by the ethereal light. This corresponds to the Manichean "Sermon of the Soul", which accords each element five "merciful gifts" (išn7hr). Particularly close is the Arabic choice of concept in the Old Turkish version of the work, which has ärdäm sävïn, "preference and joy" (thus P. Zieme in Sundermann, 1977, p. 187 par. 36; see further Sundermann, 1977, p. 116, n. 22). The puzzling naming of the "Spirit of Darkness" (Lat. concupiscentia, in Iranian languages z) as hom ma (ed. Tajaddod, p. 394, l. 18; tr. Dodge, p. 783 translates "the bold chieftainess") can be shown to be an exact rendering of this demoness's epithet "Enthymesis of death" (MP andAšišn ) marg, etc: cf. Polotsky and
Schmidt, p. 77). Hom ma thus belongs to Ar. hamma "plan something, aim for" (cf. Sundermann, 1978, pp. 491-93). Of basic value for modern research because of their detail and and singularity are still the story of Adam, Eve, and their children (tr. Dodge, pp. 783-86; cf. also Stocks), with which one can now compare the fragments of a Manichean account (Sundermann, 1973, pp. 70-75); and the descriptions of individual and cosmic eschatology (tr. Dodge, pp. 795-97; see now Gardner, pp. 42-44, 53-58). Of unique value, at least as long as the Coptic corpus remains unpublished, is the information on the letters of Mani and his students (tr. Dodge, pp. 799-801). Certain details of the cosmogony are also not to be found in such detail in any other textual source, e.g., how the primal man arms himself with the elements for the fight against darkness (tr. Dodge, pp. 778-79) or how he obliges them as his sons to serve the world of light against the darkness (tr. Dodge, p. 781). Generally one can say that Ebn al-Nad^m is most reliable and exhaustive in his account of the Manichean teachings. A remarkable gap is the almost complete lack of the "Third Ambassador," who is merely mentioned with the name baæ^r "messenger of good news" (ed. Tajaddod, p. 394, l. 26; p. 397, l. 13 [here to be understood as sun god]; p. 399, l. 10). Jesus and an "accompanying" god (el hon) are active in his place (tr. Dodge, pp. 783-84). This is a peculiarity shared with original Manichean sources (cf. van Lindt, pp. 221-22). More importantly, however, the description of Mani's teachings given in the Fehrest shows clear features of an adaptation to Islam, which Ebn al-Nad m already found in his sources, particularly in Ab3 ‘Rs4 Warr4q, who "accomplished the for us most impressive adaptation of Manicheism to Islam" (Colpe, 1954, p. 217). Often, but not always, the Manichean gods are called "angels" (mal ’eka), which must have softened the impression of what was for Muslims the blasphemy of polytheism ("the sons of the primal man," tr. Dodge, p. 781; "the Living Spirit," tr. Dodge, p. 781; and "the sons of the Living Spirit," tr. Dodge, p. 781 are "angels"). The emphasis that the devil, contrary to the chaotic world of darkness, is not eternal like the Father of the World of Light (tr. Dodge, p. 778) does not have to be an adaptation to Islam but it did perhaps attenuate Manichean dualism. The adaptations to Islam distance the picture given in the Fehrest from Mani's own myth of his teachings, but this distance becomes larger in view of the fact that the basic Gnostic idea of cosmic redemption by light as the Self-redemption of the divinity, often mentioned in Manicheism, is not spoken of at all. Manicheism under Islam. On the statements made about Manicheism during the Islamic period see the essay by G. Vajda in the bibliography. The statements on the Manichean split into the parties Meql s)ya and Mehr)ya (tr. Dodge, pp. 793-94) are very important for the history of the Manicheans, and, as Henning showed (1936, pp. 16-18), can be confirmed by Sogdian-Manichean letters from Turfan (cf. Sundermann, 1983). According to the Fehrest the Meql s)ya introduced innovations in the "long fasts" (wes' l t), i.e. in ritual affairs, thus differing from ‘Abd al-Jabb4r's account, which attests for the Meql s)ya a dogma assigned by Ebn al-Nad^m to the M s)ya (tr. Dodge, p. 783), viz. the irredemptibility of part of the Light (Monnot, p. 169). (WERNER SUNDERMANN) Encyclopedia Iranica – “al-Fehrest”