Editing Druze (section)

== Beliefs ==
=== God ===
The Druze conception of the deity is declared by them to be one of strict and uncompromising unity. The main Druze doctrine states that [[God]] is [[Panentheism|both transcendent and immanent]], in which he is above all attributes, but at the same time, he is present.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Druze Faith |first=Sami Nasib |last=Makarem |author-link=Sami Makarem}}</ref>

In their desire to maintain a rigid confession of unity, they stripped from God all attributes (''[[Tanzih|tanzīh]]''). In God, [[Divine simplicity|there are no attributes distinct from his essence]]. He is wise, mighty, and just, not by wisdom, might, and justice, but by his own essence. God is "the whole of existence", rather than merely "above existence" or on his throne, which would make him "limited". There is neither "how", "when", nor "where" about him; in this way, he is incomprehensible.<ref name="swayd">{{Citation |url=http://www.eial.org/mesp/Swayd.rtf.rtf |title=Druze Spirituality and Asceticism |first=Dr. Samy |last=Swayd |format=an abridged rough draft; [[Rich Text Format|RTF]] |publisher=Eial |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005012522/http://www.eial.org/mesp/Swayd.rtf.rtf |archive-date=5 October 2006}}</ref>{{Rp|needed =yes|date=April 2012}}

In this dogma, they are similar to the semi-philosophical, semi-religious body which flourished under [[Al-Ma'mun]] and was known by the name of [[Mu'tazila]] and the fraternal order of the [[Brethren of Purity]] (''Ikhwan al-Ṣafa'').{{sfn|Hitti|1924}}{{Rp|needed=yes|date=April 2012}}

Unlike the ''Mu'tazila'', and similar to some branches of [[Sufism]], the Druze believe in the concept of ''Tajalli'' (meaning "[[theophany]]").<ref name="swayd" />{{Rp|needed=yes|date=April 2012}} ''Tajalli'' is often misunderstood by scholars and writers and is usually confused with the concept of [[incarnation]].

{{Blockquote|[Incarnation] is the core spiritual beliefs in the Druze and some other intellectual and spiritual traditions&nbsp;... In a mystical sense, it refers to the light of God experienced by certain mystics who have reached a high level of purity in their spiritual journey. Thus, God is perceived as the [[Lahut]] [the divine] who manifests His Light in the Station ([[Maqam (Sufism)|Maqaam]]) of the [[Nasut]] [material realm] without the Nasut becoming Lahut. This is like one's image in the mirror: One is in the mirror, but does not become the mirror. The Druze manuscripts are emphatic and warn against the belief that the Nasut is God&nbsp;... Neglecting this warning, individual seekers, scholars, and other spectators have considered al-Hakim and other figures divine.&nbsp;... In the Druze scriptural view, Tajalli takes a central stage. One author comments that Tajalli occurs when the seeker's humanity is annihilated so that divine attributes and light are experienced by the person.<ref name="swayd" />{{Rp|needed=yes|date=April 2012}}}}

=== Scriptures ===
Druze sacred texts include the [[Quran]] and the [[Epistles of Wisdom]].<ref name="Religion">{{Citation |url=http://www.druze.org.au/religion/ |title=Religion |publisher=Druze |place=AU |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214100847/http://www.druze.org.au/religion/ |archive-date=14 February 2016}}</ref> Other ancient Druze writings include the ''Rasa'il al-Hind (Epistles of India)'' and the previously lost (or hidden) manuscripts such as ''al-Munfarid bi-Dhatihi'' and ''al-Sharia al-Ruhaniyya'' as well as others including [[didactic]] and [[polemic]] [[treatises]].<ref name="Incorporated1996">{{cite book |author= |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lm0NAQAAMAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Grolier Inc. |isbn=9780717201303}}</ref>

=== Reincarnation ===
{{See also|Reincarnation#Druze}}
Reincarnation is a paramount principle in the Druze faith.<ref name="Seabrook, W. B. 1928">Seabrook, W. B., ''Adventures in Arabia'', Harrap and Sons 1928, (chapters on Druze religion)</ref> Reincarnations occur instantly at one's death because there is an eternal duality of the body and the soul and it is impossible for the soul to exist without the body. A human soul will transfer only to a human body, in contrast to the Neoplatonic, Hindu and Buddhist belief systems, according to which souls can transfer to any living creature. Furthermore, a male Druze can be reincarnated only as another male Druze and a female Druze only as another female Druze. A Druze cannot be reincarnated in the body of a non-Druze. Additionally, souls cannot be divided and the number of souls existing in the universe is finite.<ref>Dwairy, Marwan (2006) "The Psychosocial Function of Reincarnation Among Druze in Israel" ''Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry'', pp. 29–53</ref> The cycle of rebirth is continuous and the only way to escape is through successive reincarnations. When this occurs, the soul is united with the Cosmic Mind and achieves the ultimate happiness.<ref name="Druze">{{cite web |title=Druze |url=http://www.druze.org.au/religion/ |date=2015 |publisher=druze.org.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214100847/http://www.druze.org.au/religion/ |archive-date=14 February 2016}}</ref>

=== Pact of Time Custodian ===
The Pact of Time Custodian (''{{Transliteration|ar|Mithāq Walī al-zamān}}'') is considered the entrance to the Druze religion, and they believe that all Druze in their past lives have signed this Charter, and Druze believe that this Charter embodies with human souls after death.

<blockquote>
I rely on our Moula Al-Hakim the lonely God, the individual, the eternal, who is out of couples and numbers, (someone) the son of (someone) has approved recognition enjoined on himself and on his soul, in a healthy of his mind and his body, permissibility aversive is obedient and not forced, to repudiate from all creeds, articles and all religions and beliefs on the differences varieties, and he does not know something except obedience of almighty Moulana Al-Hakim, and obedience is worship and that it does not engage in worship anyone ever attended or wait, and that he had handed his soul and his body and his money and all he owns to almighty Maulana Al-Hakim.<ref name="epistles of wisdom">{{cite book|author=Ḥamza ibn ʻAli ibn Aḥmad and Baha'a El-Din |title=The Druze holy book Epistles of Wisdom |page=47 |chapter=Elmithaq |url=http://www.christoph-heger.de/epistles_wisdom_1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023204805/http://www.christoph-heger.de/epistles_wisdom_1.pdf |archive-date=2007-10-23 |url-status=live|access-date=18 March 2011|publisher=[[Christoph Heger]]}}</ref>{{clarify|reason=This is not a valid English sentence. It likely needs manual re-translation from its source, or a different source already translated into English.|date=May 2022}}
</blockquote>

The Druze also use a similar formula, called al-'ahd, when one is initiated into the ʻUqqāl.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Hanna Batatu|title=Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics|date=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-4584-2|pages=15–16|quote=I&nbsp;... son of&nbsp;... being sane of spirit and body and duly qualified, attest on my soul, without compulsion or constraint, that I renounce all the different cults, religions, and creeds and acknowledge nothing other than obedience to our Lord al-Hakim, revered be his name, and obedience is worship; that in his worship I associate no past, present, or future being; that I commit my soul, my body, my property, and my offspring&nbsp;... to our Lord al-Hakim&nbsp;... and accept all his decrees, be they in my favour or against me&nbsp;... He who attests that there is in heaven no adored god and on the earth no living imam other than our Lord al-Hakim&nbsp;... belongs to the triumphant muwahhidin [unitarians]. Signed&nbsp;... in the year&nbsp;... of the slave of our Lord&nbsp;... Hamzah bin 'Ali bin Ahmad, the guide of those who respond [to the divine call] and the avenger on the polytheists with the sword of our Lord.}}<!--|access-date=6 January 2015--></ref>

=== Sanctuaries ===
[[File:Khalwat al-Bayada.jpg|thumb|right|Druze clerics in [[Khalwat al-Bayada]]]]
The prayer-houses of the Druze are called ''khilwa,'' ''khalwa, khilwat'' or ''khalwat''. The primary [[sanctuary]] of the Druze is at [[Khalwat al-Bayada]].{{sfn|Dānā|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2nCWIsyZJxUC&pg=PA38 38]}}

=== Esotericism ===
The Druze believe that many teachings given by prophets, religious leaders and holy books have [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] meanings preserved for those of intellect, in which some teachings are [[Religious symbolism|symbolic]] and [[allegory|allegorical]] in nature, and divide the understanding of holy books and teachings into three layers.

These layers, according to the Druze, are as follows:
* The obvious or [[exoteric]] ''([[Zahir (Islam)|zahir]])'', accessible to anyone who can read or hear;
* The hidden or [[esoteric]] ''([[Batin (Islam)|batin]])'', accessible to those who are willing to search and learn through the concept of [[exegesis]];
* And the hidden of the hidden, a concept known as ''[[anagoge]]'', inaccessible to all but a few really enlightened individuals who truly understand the nature of the universe.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A3694809 |contribution=The Druze|title=h2g2 |date=8 April 2005 |publisher=BBC |place=UK}}</ref>

Druze do not believe that the esoteric meaning abrogates or necessarily abolishes the exoteric one. Hamza bin Ali refutes such claims by stating that if the esoteric interpretation of ''[[Islam|taharah]]'' (purity) is purity of the heart and soul, it doesn't mean that a person can discard his physical purity, as ''[[salat]]'' (prayer) is useless if a person is untruthful in his speech and that the esoteric and exoteric meanings complement each other.<ref>{{Cite book |contribution=The Epistle Answering the People of Esotericism ''(batinids)'' |title=Epistles of Wisdom |volume=Second }} (a rough translation from the Arabic)</ref>

=== Seven Druze precepts ===
{{further|Seven pillars of Ismailism#Druze list}}
The Druze follow seven moral precepts or duties that are considered the core of the faith.<ref name="Druze" />
The Seven Druze precepts are:{{sfn|Hitti|1924|p=51}}
# Veracity in speech and the truthfulness of the tongue.
# Protection and mutual aid to the brethren in faith.
# Renunciation of all forms of former worship (specifically, invalid creeds) and false belief.
# Repudiation of the devil ([[Iblis]]), and all forces of evil (translated from Arabic ''Toghyan'', meaning "[[despotism]]").
# Confession of God's unity.
# Acquiescence in God's acts no matter what they be.
# Absolute submission and resignation to God's divine will in both secret and public.

=== Taqiyya ===
Complicating their identity is the custom of ''{{Transliteration|ar|[[taqiyya]]}}''—concealing or disguising their beliefs when necessary—that they adopted from [[Ismailism]] and the esoteric nature of the faith, in which many teachings are kept secretive. This is done in order to keep the religion from those who are not yet prepared to accept the teachings and therefore could misunderstand it, as well as to protect the community when it is in danger. Some claim to be Muslim or Christian in order to avoid persecution; some do not.<ref name="kais">{{cite book|title=A History of the Druzes, Volume 1|last=Firro|first=Kais|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09437-6|year=1992}}</ref> Druze in different states can have radically different lifestyles.{{sfn|Dānā|2003|p=18}}

=== Theophany ===
[[Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad]] is considered the founder of the Druze and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts.<ref name="The World's Greatest Religious Lead"/> He proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man.<ref name="Aga"/><ref name="Poonawala 1999 542">{{harvnb|Poonawala|1999|p=542}}; {{harvnb|Nisan|2002|p=95}}; {{harvnb|Dānā|2003|p=41}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">"Encyclopaedic Survey of Islamic Culture", p. 94 by Mohamed Taher</ref> [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]] is an important figure in the Druze faith whose eponymous founder [[ad-Darazi]] proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018.<ref name="Aga"/>{{sfn|Poonawala|1999|p=542}} The Druze believe that al-Hākim will return at the end of times to judge the world and establish his kingdom, while [[Hamza ibn Ali]] is considered a reincarnation of Jesus, the Universal Mind ''[['Aql]]'', closely associated with al-Hākim.<ref name="Mahmut 2023"/>

The author of the epistle "The Report of the Jewish and Christians" (''Khabar al-Yahud wal Nasara''), part of first volume of the [[Epistles of Wisdom]], appears to have been a Druze individual. The account itself identifies him as [[Hamza ibn Ali]], a supporter of [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim's]] [[divinity]] and the founder of the Druze faith.<ref name="Mallett 2010">{{cite book |title=Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 2 (900–1050)|last=Mallett|first=Alexander|year=2010|isbn=9789004129382|pages=640–645|publisher=Brill}}</ref>

Historian David R. W. Bryer defines the Druzes as ''[[ghulat]]'' of Isma'ilism, since they exaggerated the cult of the caliph [[al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]] and considered him divine; he also defines the Druzes as a religion that deviated from Islam.<ref name="Bryer 1975 52–65">{{cite journal |last=Bryer |first=David R. W. |title=The Origins of the Druze Religion |journal=[[Der Islam]] |year=1975 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=52–65 |doi=10.1515/islm.1975.52.1.47 |s2cid=201807131 |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/islm.1975.52.1.47 |issn=1613-0928 |ref={{harvid|Bryer|1975a}} }}</ref> He also added that as a result of this deviation, the Druze faith "seems as different from Islam as Islam is from Christianity or Christianity is from Judaism".<ref name="Bryer 1975 239–262"/>

===Prophethood===
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Nebi Shueib Festival.jpg|thumb|[[Druze in Israel|Druze]] dignitaries celebrating the [[Nabi Shu'ayb]] festival at the tomb of the prophet in [[Hittin]], [[Israel]]]]
Recognition of prophets in the Druze religion is divided into three sort-of subcategories, the prophet themselves (''natiq''), their disciples (''asas''), and witnesses to their message (''hujjah'').

The number 5 contains an unstated significance within the Druze faith; it is believed in this area that great prophets come in groups of five. In the time of the ancient Greeks, these five were represented by [[Pythagoras]], [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Parmenides]], and [[Empedocles]]. In the first century, the five were represented by [[Jesus Christ]],<ref name="Hitti 1928 37">{{cite book |title=The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings |first=Philip K. |last=Hitti |year=1928 |isbn=9781465546623 |page=37 |publisher=Library of Alexandria}}</ref>{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=17}} [[John the Baptist]],{{sfn|Swayd|2015|p=7}} [[Saint Matthew]], [[Saint Mark]], and [[Saint Luke]].<ref name="Swayd 2009"/> In the time of the faith's foundation, the five were [[Hamza ibn Ali|Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad]], Muḥammad ibn Wahb al-Qurashī, Abū'l-Khayr Salama ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Samurri, Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad at-Tamīmī, and [[Al-Muqtana Baha'uddin]].

Druze tradition honors and reveres Hamza ibn Ali Ahmad and [[Salman the Persian]] as "mentors" and "prophets", believed to be [[reincarnation]]s of the [[monotheistic]] idea.{{sfn|Dana|2010|p=314}}{{sfn|Nisan|2015|p=94}}

=== Other beliefs ===
The Druze allow divorce, although it is discouraged, and circumcision is not necessary. [[Apostasy]] is forbidden,{{sfn|Daftary|2007|p=189}} and they usually have religious services on Thursday evenings.{{sfn|Swayd|2009|p=xxxix}} Druze follow Sunni [[Hanafi]] law on issues which their own faith has no particular rulings about.<ref>{{cite book |first=Morgan |last=Clarke |title=Islam And New Kinship: Reproductive Technology and the Shariah in Lebanon |date=2013 |publisher=[[Berghahn Books]] |isbn=978-0-85745-382-2 |page=17}}</ref>{{sfn|Swayd|2009|pp=44, 61, 147}}

Formal Druze worship is confined to weekly meeting on Thursday evenings, during which all members of community gather together to discuss local issues before those not initiated into the secrets of the faith (the juhhāl, or the ignorant) are dismissed, and those who are "uqqāl" or "enlightened" (those few initiated in the Druze holy books) remain to read and study.{{sfn|Swayd|2009|p=xxxix}}