Just Who Exactly Is Kaab al-Ahbar? Kaab al-Ahbar ibn Mati, Abu Ishaq (ca 652), originally a Yeminite Jew who converted to Islam in the early days of the orthodox caliphate, was the oldest authority for Jewish traditions among the Muslims and the teacher of ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra. Kaab al-Ahbar is also at the center of a Sunni-Shiite dispute. The Shiite scholars have accused him of treason and forgery. Some Shiite scholars believe that he was involved in the assassination of the Caliph Umar, an event that Kaab had predicted three days in advance. The Caliph Umar was assassinated by Abu Lulu (a Persian slave). The Sunni scholars, however, believe Kaab al-Ahbar was not involved. Song of Azrael has compiled a complete collection of all of the records associated with Kaab al-Ahbar and we've created this page to present them, along with our own commentary, to explain the reasons we have come to the conclusions we have, regarding him. Qisas al-Anbiya: Mankind Undertakes the Covenant Kaab said: Seeds remained large during the days of Adam and his son, Seth, down to the time of Idris. When the people turned faithless, seeds shrank from the size of ostrich eggs to a smaller size. Then in the days of Pharaoh, they became smaller still. IN the time of Elijah, when they disbelieved, seeds became the size of chicken eggs and remained so until the time of Jeremiah. When they killed John, the son of Zacharias, and the days had passed until the appearance of Nebuchadnezzar they became the size of hazel nuts and remained so until the days of Ezra. However, when the Jews called Ezra the Son of God, they shrank to the size of ‘chick peas’ and remained so until the days of Jesus. But when the Christians called Jesus the son and his mother, the wife of God, they shrank to what you see today. We present this story because we want our viewers to understand the points that are presented here. The very presence of this record, written by an ex-Jew, explains why the Muslims have accused the Judeans of calling Ezra the son of God, since one could hardly argue the practice never existed, if it had been recorded by an ex-Jew. This story was intended to support the ruling of Surah 9:30 which condemned the use of the title ben Elohim (son of God), as it was known to be used with Ezra and Jesus. The Quran: Surah 9:30 And the Jews call Ezra the son of God and the Christians call Jesus the son of God. That is a saying from their mouths. In this, they imitate what the non-belivers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them, how they are deluded from the truth. If this man was the "oldest authority of Jewish traditions among the Muslims of his time", why couldn't he explain to the Muslims what the title bene Elohim (sons of God) meant, and how common the title was? But for now, we simply ask you to note that Kaab al-Ahbar knew who Ezra was, he knew how to spell this name and he was very aware of the controversy surrounding a divine title that was affixed to Ezra's name. Given all that I had learned about Kaab al-Ahbar at this point, I was completely shocked when I read the following record in which he clearly affixed a different divine title to Ezra's name... the "eil" angelic title. Qisas al Anbiya - The Creation of the Heavens and the Angels * Kaab said: As for the Angel of Death, his name is Azrael and his abode is in the heaven of this Earth. God created for him the same number of helpers as those who shall taste death. His legs are on the borders of the seventh and lowest Earth, his head is in the seventh and highest heaven at the last partition and his face is turned toward the Preserved Tablet. He has 360 eyes, in each of which are three eyes. He has 360 tongues in each of which are three tongues. He has 360 hands, in each of which are three hands. And he has 360 feet in each of which are three feet. He has four wings. One is in the East and one is in the West. One is at the last partition and one is under the limits of the seventh and lowest Earth. He gaze upon the Preserved Tablet and all of creation is depicted before his eyes. No creature’s soul is taken except after its livelihood is exhausted and it’s purpose is fulfilled. The souls of the faithful, he seizes with his right hand and places them in Illiyyin. The souls of infidels he seizes with his left hand and places them in Sijinn until Doomsday. * Compare with the Persian story of Ezraeil. This is the first record to use the name Azrael (Hebrew meaning: Help of God) for the Angel of Death. This record comes across as a very spiteful "in your face" come back to the Muslims because he took the name Ezra (Hebrew meaning: Help) and applied the angelic title to it, despite the controversy concerning divine titles being added to Ezra's name. Why? What was his motive? We could only conclude, based on this and his inability to explain the first title (bene Elohim), that Kaab al-Ahbar was a fraud, but if this is the case, there must be other records of complaint to indict him... and we found them! Kaab al-Ahbar Counts The Days of the Caliph Umar Kaab: Amir Al-Mu'minin, you ought to write your will because you will die in three days. Umar: How do you know that? Kaab: I found it in the Book of God, the Torah. Umar: By God, do you find 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab in the Torah? Kaab: By God, no. But I found your description in the Torah and your time is coming to an end. Umar: But I do not feel any pain or sickness. On the following day Kaab came to Umar and said: Amir Al-Mu'minin, one day has passed and you have only two more days. The following day Kaab came to him and said: "Amir Al-Mu'minin, two days have gone and you have only one day and one night remaining. The following morning, 'Umar came out to lead the prayer at the mosque. He used to commission men in order to arrange the rows of worshippers. When they were in a straight line, he started the prayer. Abu Lulu (a Persian slave) entered the mosque carrying a dagger with two heads and a handle in the middle. He hit Umar six times, one of them hit the Caliph in the navel, killing him. (al-Tabari, part 4, page 191) Shiite Accusations: A Part Of The Conspiracy? It seems clear that 'Umar's assassination was a conspiracy, and that Ka'b Al-Ahbar was a part of the plot. The assassination of Umar would weaken the Muslims because an outburst of violence against the caliphate would shake the confidence in the Islamic regime and create confusion. Announcing the event before it took place made the companions believe in what Ka'b predicted and what he claimed to be recorded in the Old Testament, therefore, making him a reliable source for future information. Such confidence would enable him to interfere in major events and suggest the name of the future caliph. A number of prominent companions believed the information that Kaab used to fabricate pertaining to the past and future. As you can see, this is a very serious accusation. Was Kaab al-Ahbar involved in the assassination of the Caliph Umar? We would need some proof that he was associating with the Persians of the period. A Persian Story of Ezra'eil, the Angel of Death Earths, that is, the Seventh Earth, and his head is in the High Firmament, which is the highest of all firmaments, and the face of Ezraeil, God’s praise be upon him, is in front of the Protected Tablet, and he has closed humanity’s mouth and his command thereto according to the number of people who die, and all the people are in front of his two eyes. He does not take any creature’s life unless his provision has been exhausted and the hour of his death has come. And it has been related from Ashab ibn Aslam that Hazrat Khalil-ullah, God’s praise be upon him, spoke of the Monarch of Death, and said, What are you engaged upon when you are not here? One is in the East, and the other one is in the West, or it is in a country, or warfare flares up between two armies. Ezra'eil, God's praise be upon him, said: "I summon souls, that is, the souls of all animals and human beings. And there it is! Apart from a couple of additions and variations, this is the same story that Kaab al-Ahbar gave to the Muslims of the period, yet this entry was translated from an ancient form of Persian. We are trying to fix a date to this item, and will continue to evaluate more information as it comes to us, but for the sake of clarity, we'll review what we have presented here thus far: Kaab al Ahbar could not explain the title, bene Elohim (sons of God) to the Muslims, which leads us to believe that he was not the "learned Jew" he pretended to be in order to gain the confidence of the Caliph Umar. Kaab al Ahbar then wrote a story in support of Quranic laws that condemned the Jews for attaching the divine title, ben Elohim, to Ezra's name. Following the condemnation of this practice, he took the name Ezra (Hebrew for Help, spelled: Ayin, Zayin, Resh, Aleph) and added a different divine title to it, the Angelic title (Yod, Aleph, Lamed). He then told the Muslims that the name of the Angel of Death was Azrael (Hebrew for Help... of God, spelled: Ayin, Zayin, Resh, Yod, Aleph Lamed). Since they did not know Hebrew and did not see the obvious connection, the statement was not challenged and became a matter of record. Another matter of record involves Kaab al Ahbar's self-proclaimed prophecy surrounding the death of the Caliph Umar, even though Kaab al-Ahbar was clearly not a prophet. Had the Caliph died of natural causes, this might have been believable, but the Caliph was assassinated by a Persian slave. The event triggered a dispute between the Shiites and Sunnis. The Shiites accused Kaab al Ahbar of collaborating with the Persians. The Sunnis declared him innocent because there was no proof he was collaborating with the Persians. We then found a passage inscribed in ancient Persian, concerning Ezra'eil, the Angel of Death. Even with the inconsistencies we can tell this is, in fact, Kaab al Ahbar's story. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our Sunni scholars. We do not mean to disrespect their work but, given the vast amount of new evidence that was not submitted during the time this dispute was heard, we hope they will use this information to reconsider their decision... or at least understand ours. If you have any comments and/or submissions: Please Email Us. Return To:   Song of Azrael | Books of Azrael | Azrael Chronicles | Special Presentations | Project News