Thread by @aaolomi

The mysterious prophet Idris is an important figure for Islamic esoteric traditions, becoming a possessor of great wisdom.

To some he is associated with Enoch, but others will link him to the legendary Hermes.

A thread-

Idris is mentioned in the Qur’an (19:56-57) only briefly, but later writers would expand on his life.

He is associated early on with Enoch, with much of Muslim commentaries drawing upon the life of the Jewish prophet to fill out the story of Idris.

Tabari, drawing from Biblical narratives, says Idris was born while Adam was still alive and is one of the antediluvian prophets.

He goes on to list his progeny, saying his son was Methuselah the grandfather of Noah.

He is believed to be one of the earliest prophets having been granted scripture and wisdom. He is associated specifically with the pen and the knowledge of writing.

It is through references to wisdom, or “hikmah” that medieval Muslim thinkers would connect Idris to Hermes.

With the incorporation of Hellenic philosophy into Islamic thought, Hermes Trismegistus is transformed into the Prophet Idris.

Abu Ma’shar links him to the astro-religion of the Harrans, who perhaps may have been the bridge between Hermes the philosopher and Hermes the prophet.

Abu Ma’shar in his Kitab al Uluf says there were actually three Hermes as the name is a title.

The first was Idris who through the knowledge of the stars saw the coming of the Great Flood and so built the pyramids to preserve sacred knowledge.

He also built the mighty temples of the ancient world.

The second Hermes was from Babylon and a master of secret numbers and philosophy.

He taught what he knew to his student and initiate, Pythagoras.

The third Hermes lived in Egypt was a master of plants and medicine and poisons and alchemy.

He passed on his wisdom to his student and initiate, Asclepius.

Here ancient philosophers are drawn into an Islamic cosmology as Hermes is transformed by Abu Ma’shar through the figure of Hermes-Idris.

It’s interesting to note how even the temples of old are re-imagined.

Because of his connection to astrology and mathematics, Hermes-Idris will be accredited with the creation of the Arabic Lots, calculated points used for prognostication in horoscopes; with the divisions of the great years, an astrological technique for organizing world history;

and with the technique of using horoscopes to calculate hours of the day and night.

Abu Ma’shar’s theory parallels—and likely draws from—older Jewish sources as well as Hermetic texts.

Plessner notes the commonalties with the Book of Jubilees and its commentary which relate the angel Raziel taught Enoch the secrets of medicine and astrology which the prophet preserved in text.

The book was then passed down to Noah through the angel Raphael.

Then Raziel had Noah write The Book of Raziel on a great sapphire.

They contained wisdom for Noah used them to construct the Ark, but they also had the secrets of medicine and future events.

Specifically, they taught how to time all actions according to astrology, known as “Choices” which would later become electional astrology.

The books were eventually passed down to Solomon the Wise.

This narrative is not unlike the Hermetic Emerald Tablet which also asserts the preservation of sacred knowledge.

In his book, Bladel notes the idea of a sacred text preserving lost esoteric knowledge would become the cornerstone of the Hermetic-Islamic tradition.

For example in the Sirr al-khaliqa wa-ṣanʿat al-ṭabiʿa the author claims to have discovered the Emerald Tablet in a secret vault under the statue of Hermes

Within its secrets is the knowledge of alchemy, which reveals the hidden properties of things, of metals, and minerals, and through which the transmutation of base metals into gold could be affected.

To the medieval Muslim philosopher, Idris-Hermes then is the father of the sacred sciences: astrology, alchemy, and medicine.

The wise who studied his secrets could foretell what was to come, craft talismans, transmute metals into gold, and cure all illnesses.

For mystics like Ibn Arabi, Idris was the ultimate initiator.

In his spiritual journey he encounters Idris in the 4th heaven, the realm of the Sun.

Appearing in both Fusus al-Hikam and Al-Futuḥāt al-Makkiyya he was elevated to the heavens and taught by the angels the motion of the stars and the secret Names.

Idris is linked to gnosis

Here Ibn Arabi provides a justification for astrology not as a type of fortune-telling, but spiritual wisdom—a knowledge of how God’s decrees and commandments reverberate through the cosmos and are transmitted through a great chain of being

In other words, “As Above so Below.”

Islamicist James Morris notes for Ibn Arabi, Idris takes on a unique meaning as a prophet who ascends to heaven is taught its mysteries and then descends once more to teach others and thus becomes Elijah.

Idris is then Hermes, Enoch, & Elijah all at once in this interpretation

Finally, in another telling Idris seeking further knowledge asks the angel of the sun to raise him up so he may speak to the angel of death.

The angel places him on its back.

As they are ascending the heavens they meet the angel of death descending from its place

The angel of death asks the angel of the sun where it is going. To which the angelic messenger replies, “we’ve come to see you.”

“We?” asks the angel of death

“Idris and I”

“Where is Idris” asks the reaper of souls

“On my back” replies the solar angel.

Astonished, the angel of death exclaims “I just received a decree to gather the soul of one who hangs on the back of an angel but I did not know how to find him”

Thus Idris resides in the fourth heaven and reflects the perfect order of the cosmos.

Idris is one of the more fascinating figures in Islam. A passing reference into the Qur’an, he becomes the inflection point in which Hermetic lore, Jewish commentaries, and Islamic cosmology all meld together.

For Abu Ma’shar, Idris-Enoch-Hermes represents a true attempt at fashioning a universalist history.

Idris also becomes the narrative tool used by medieval Muslim philosophers to explain the role of astrology, alchemy, and medicine Islamically.

For historians, the narratives of Idris reflect the unique cultural milieu of medieval Islamic societies and the integration and overlapping of various intellectual traditions.

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