On the Origins of the Abramelin Operation in Islamicate Magic

This paper argues that the central concern of the Book of Abramelin, whereby the practitioner is enjoined to undertake an extensive ritual in order to acquire magical power through establishing a link with his personal Guardian Angel - a cornerstone of modern Western esotericism - represents a Jewish adaptation of Islamicate magical practices similar to those reflected in Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī’s “Hidden Secret” (al-Sirr al-Maktūm). As the Book itself claims, and independently of the later history of the manuscript, it is plausible that the topos for this development was Mamluk Egypt in the first part of the 15th century. Basing himself on al-Rāzī’s ideas, or on practices derived from them, we suggest that a Jewish magician designed a ritual aimed at acquiring the equivalent of al-Rāzī’s Perfect Nature (al-Țibā al-Tāmm) drawing on Second Temple priestly rites and Sufi devotional practices or their Jewish analogues, and expressing the whole in terms characteristic of Jewish piety. This astonishingly fecund instance of cross-cultural transmission offers fresh insight into medieval magical borrowings from Islamicate practices.