The Demon in Potentiality and the Devil in Actuality: Two Principles of Evil according to 4th/10th Century Ismailism


The Kitāb al-Kašf and the Kitāb al-Šaǧara, two 4th/10th century Ismaili works, share a dualistic vision of the world, marked by a continuous struggle between good and evil, light and darkness. Evil is identified with the exoteric religion deprived of its esoteric dimension. It is caused by a satanic pair, typified by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb, the archetypes of the antagonists (aḍdād) opposing the Prophets and their Imams, from Adam to the advent of the Resurrector (al-Qāʾim). Through a personalized reading of selected verses from the Qurʾān, the authors of both works interpret the rejection of ʿAlī’s legacy by the first two caliphs as the paradigm of all opposition against the Imām’s esoteric knowledge leading to salvation. When ʿUmar represents the principle of evil in se, Abū Bakr stands for the weakness of the largest part of mankind, eager to be induced into error. By introducing into this doctrine the Aristotelian distinction between potentiality and actuality, the Kitāb al-Šaǧara develops an encompassing theory about the dynamics of evil.