Cognoscenti
11-30-2009, 10:04 AM
This is probably not the correct category to place this post, as the material presented is of Islamic origin. Hmmmmm.....oh well.
The House Of Wisdom
One of the most extraordinary of all secret societies arose in Egypt in the 10th century A.D. The Caliph Abu Mohammed Abdallah claimed the caliphate because he was directly descended from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. He broke away from the Abbasside Dynasty and founded the Fatimite Dynasty, establishing his throne at Cairo. The motives which impelled this bold action have never been adequately examined, but they must have been acceptable to a considerable number of devout Moslems or the new Dynasty could not have survived. In light of later events, it would appear that the Caliph Abdallah was a man of more than average intellectual attainments. The principal college in Cairo, the Dar-ul-Likmat (House of Science) was a distinguished center of learning, and to this the Caliph attached a Grand Lodge, dedicated to the advancement of philosophical and esoteric doctrines.* This was called the House of Wisdom, and here candidates for initiation into the mysteries of Ismaelism were regularly instructed. The instructions, which took the form of philosophical conferences, were given twice weekly, and both men and women attended the school. Wearing white robes, the neophytes and disciples were seated around the Grand Prior, who was the Grand Master of the Order.* Originally, Abdallah divided his system of initiation into seven degrees. The teachings of Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, were included in the sacred curriculum, and aspirants advanced from level of knowledge to another, only a few attaining to the ultimate teachings of the Lodge.
The principal historians of the House of Wisdom are Joseph von Hammer and Stanley Lane-Poole, both of whom showed marked prejudice against Moslem mysticism in general and the House of Wisdom in particular. It is generally admitted, however, that the seven basic degrees contributed to nobility of character, and the teachings included in them were above reproach.
The first degree was the longest and the most difficult, for it involved broad attainments in knowledge and most solemn obligations to the teacher and the Lodge. The second degree conveyed a knowledge of the Imams, whom Makrisi* describes as certain sacred beings or persons, the source of all knowledge, who appear at various times to preserve the holy doctrine. This gives the impression that the Imams were actually Adepts, the higher members of a spiritual overgovernment founded in the esoteric tradition of antiquity. The third degree gave the number of the Imams as seven, and related this number to the seven heavens, the seven planets, the seven musical sounds, and all the other septenaries familiar to students of ancient symbolical philosophy. The fourth degree described the seven divine lawgivers, the apostles of God who had succeeded one another, beginning with Noah and Abraham. The fifth degree extended the secret knowledge to the consideration of the number twelve, taking up such matters as the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve tribes of Israel, and so forth. The sixth degree was essentially philosophical, with emphasis upon Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras. The seventh presented an Oriental mystical theology, including the doctrine of unity which the Sufis exhibited.
This program of instruction followed broadly the form of the philosophic ladder of Plotinus, the Alexandrian Neoplatonist. The disciple advances systematically through the abstract branches of learning, always dear to the Eastern heart, and while modern educators might consider the subject matter irregular, there would be no cause to question the piety of this Grande Lodge. To the original seven degrees, two additional phantom levels are said to have been added, and that the teaching of these COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THE HOUSE OF WISDOM.
THE INITIATE WAS REQUIRED TO REJECT ALL THE KNOWLEDGE HE HAD PREVIOUSLY LEARNED AND CULTIVATE TOTAL ATHEISM. [emphasis mine]
* see a short history of the saracens by Amer Ali
* secret sects of syria and the lebanon by Bernard H. Springett
* Native authority quoted by von Hammer
pp. 58-59 of The Mystics of Islam
Manly P. Hall
The House Of Wisdom
One of the most extraordinary of all secret societies arose in Egypt in the 10th century A.D. The Caliph Abu Mohammed Abdallah claimed the caliphate because he was directly descended from Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. He broke away from the Abbasside Dynasty and founded the Fatimite Dynasty, establishing his throne at Cairo. The motives which impelled this bold action have never been adequately examined, but they must have been acceptable to a considerable number of devout Moslems or the new Dynasty could not have survived. In light of later events, it would appear that the Caliph Abdallah was a man of more than average intellectual attainments. The principal college in Cairo, the Dar-ul-Likmat (House of Science) was a distinguished center of learning, and to this the Caliph attached a Grand Lodge, dedicated to the advancement of philosophical and esoteric doctrines.* This was called the House of Wisdom, and here candidates for initiation into the mysteries of Ismaelism were regularly instructed. The instructions, which took the form of philosophical conferences, were given twice weekly, and both men and women attended the school. Wearing white robes, the neophytes and disciples were seated around the Grand Prior, who was the Grand Master of the Order.* Originally, Abdallah divided his system of initiation into seven degrees. The teachings of Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle, were included in the sacred curriculum, and aspirants advanced from level of knowledge to another, only a few attaining to the ultimate teachings of the Lodge.
The principal historians of the House of Wisdom are Joseph von Hammer and Stanley Lane-Poole, both of whom showed marked prejudice against Moslem mysticism in general and the House of Wisdom in particular. It is generally admitted, however, that the seven basic degrees contributed to nobility of character, and the teachings included in them were above reproach.
The first degree was the longest and the most difficult, for it involved broad attainments in knowledge and most solemn obligations to the teacher and the Lodge. The second degree conveyed a knowledge of the Imams, whom Makrisi* describes as certain sacred beings or persons, the source of all knowledge, who appear at various times to preserve the holy doctrine. This gives the impression that the Imams were actually Adepts, the higher members of a spiritual overgovernment founded in the esoteric tradition of antiquity. The third degree gave the number of the Imams as seven, and related this number to the seven heavens, the seven planets, the seven musical sounds, and all the other septenaries familiar to students of ancient symbolical philosophy. The fourth degree described the seven divine lawgivers, the apostles of God who had succeeded one another, beginning with Noah and Abraham. The fifth degree extended the secret knowledge to the consideration of the number twelve, taking up such matters as the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve tribes of Israel, and so forth. The sixth degree was essentially philosophical, with emphasis upon Plato, Aristotle, and Pythagoras. The seventh presented an Oriental mystical theology, including the doctrine of unity which the Sufis exhibited.
This program of instruction followed broadly the form of the philosophic ladder of Plotinus, the Alexandrian Neoplatonist. The disciple advances systematically through the abstract branches of learning, always dear to the Eastern heart, and while modern educators might consider the subject matter irregular, there would be no cause to question the piety of this Grande Lodge. To the original seven degrees, two additional phantom levels are said to have been added, and that the teaching of these COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THE HOUSE OF WISDOM.
THE INITIATE WAS REQUIRED TO REJECT ALL THE KNOWLEDGE HE HAD PREVIOUSLY LEARNED AND CULTIVATE TOTAL ATHEISM. [emphasis mine]
* see a short history of the saracens by Amer Ali
* secret sects of syria and the lebanon by Bernard H. Springett
* Native authority quoted by von Hammer
pp. 58-59 of The Mystics of Islam
Manly P. Hall