ʿuqqāl

ʿuqqāl, in the Druze religion, an elite of initiates who alone know Druze doctrine (ḥikmah, literally “wisdom”), participate fully in the Druze religious services, and have access to Druze scripture. The religious system of the Druzes is kept secret from the rest of their own numbers, who are known as juhhāl (“the ignorant”), as well as from the outside world. Any Druze man or woman deemed worthy after serious scrutiny is eligible for admission into the ʿuqqāl.

Once initiated, the ʿuqqāl adopt distinctive dress and white turbans and must pursue lives of religious piety, sobriety, and virtue. They abstain from alcohol and tobacco and attend secret Thursday-evening services at the khilwah, an austere, unadorned house of worship usually located outside the village. The ʿuqqāl are further bound by the seven Druze principles of conduct: utter honesty under all circumstances but specifically avoidance of theft, murder, and adultery; Druze solidarity; renunciation of other religions; avoidance of unbelievers; belief in the oneness of God; acceptance of God’s acts; and submission to God’s will.

The ʿuqqāl may deepen their knowledge of Druze doctrine in progressive stages until some finally become “the generous,” ajāwīd. Any rise in the hierarchy brings with it greater obligations to live a blameless life. Any taint of evil, however remote, must be scrupulously avoided. The more learned or devout among the ʿuqqāl are distinguished as sheikhs and after special schooling devote themselves to the study and copying of the religious texts; they often retire completely to the khilwahs.

The ʿuqqāl bear responsibility for the juhhāl, who in their ignorance are denied the possibility of spiritual growth. The juhhāl, whose lives are not so restricted morally and sensually as those of the ʿuqqāl, are aware of the doctrine of the unity of God and possess detailed mythologies of creation and tanāsukh, transmigration of souls, in which Druze souls are always reborn as Druze souls.

The juhhāl generally live by the principle of taqīyah, or dissimulation of faith, and when living among Muslims or Christians they may superficially adopt their practices.