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Document Details : Title: Encoded Names of Muhammad in Mandaean Religious Books ('Drašā d-Yāhyā', 'Ginzā', and 'Haran Gawaitha') Author(s): NADIROV, Ilnur I. Journal: ARAM Periodical Volume: 22 Date: 2010 Pages: 311-319 DOI: 10.2143/ARAM.22.0.2131042 Abstract : From this short survey of some Mandaean names and terms based on an integrated linguistic approach, we may conclude that the beliefs of the Mandaean community were affected by foreign influences (Judaic, Muslim, and Christian) to a much larger degree than seems to be generally appreciated. Some key names and words like Bishlom, Bizbat, and Nirigh, frequently used in the named books in a somewhat negative sense, are interpreted here for the first time, and several other insights are introduced. The author confines himself only to the description of a few Mandaean words used to denote the not-much-welcomed new force of Islam, whose leader Muhammad, in the view of the authors of the sacred books, was 'the father of demons.' The main part of the article is devoted to an etymological analysis of two of Muhammad’s nicknames, which are encoded. Then, the theonym Nirigh for Nergal is studied. This article may be considered as a first step in an effort to compose a religious picture of how the Mandaeans related to their neighbors, the Muslims, Hebrews, and Christians. |
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