Al-Khasibi

Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Hamdan al-Junbalani al-Khasibi (873-968), commonly known simply as al-Khasibi, was a religious leader and missionary who played a central role in the development of the Nuṣayrī (later known as the Alawite) sect in Iraq and Syria. Al-Khaṣībī originated from Jonbalā, a village situated between Kufa and Wasit in Iraq, which was the center of the Qarmatians. He was a member of a well-educated family with close ties to eleventh Twelver Imam Hasan al-Askari and a scholar of the Alawites, also known as Nusayris, which is now present in Syria, southern Turkey and northern Lebanon. For some time (the specific duration is unknown), al-Khaṣībī was imprisoned in Baghdad on accusations of Qarmatian affiliation. According to the Alawites, after settling in Aleppo, under the rule of the Shia Hamdanid dynasty, he gained the support and aid of its ruler, Sayf al-Dawla, in spreading his teachings. He later dedicated his book Kitab al-Hidaya al-Kubra to his patron. He died in Aleppo and his tomb, which became a shrine, is inscribed with the name Shaykh Yabraq. He taught several unique beliefs (especially in Risalah Ristpashiyah), including that Jesus was every one of the prophets from Adam to Muhammad as well as other figures such as Socrates, Plato and some ancestors of Muhammad, and that other historical figures were the incarnations of Ali and Salman al-Farisi. He and his works were praised by the Iranian Shiʿite scholar Muhammad Baqir Majlisi.