Nusayriyya (Alawites)
النصيرية
The Nusayriyya, ghulat Shi'a lately called Alawites; seated on Jabal al-Nusayriyya, their lands stretching to the plains of Hama, Homs and Aleppo and north past Antioch, named for the Shi'i jurist Muhammad ibn Nusayr (d. 260), a follower of the eleventh imam al-Hasan al-Askari — northern Syria's old stock before the Druze came to Lebanon, their faith a secreted blend holding also to Christian festivals like Christmas and Easter and names like Matta and Hanna.
At a glance
- Era
- Abbasid Fragmentation · The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
The Nusayriyya, called "the Alawites" in modern times, are counted by Hasan Ibrahim Hasan among the extreme Shi'a. Their name is traced to Muhammad ibn Nusayr, who died in the year 260 AH and was a follower of al-Hasan al-Askari. 1
Their homelands
Their homeland is the Nusayriyya or Ansariyya mountain in Mount Lebanon, and their lands extend east to the plain of Hama, Homs and Aleppo, and north beyond Antioch. He says that they are among the oldest inhabitants of northern Syria, before the Druze came. 1
He says that their religion has secrets similar to those of the Druze, and that some of them keep Christian feasts and names of Christian origin. This is the description of one author, and it needs a second source, and the sources of the Nusayriyya themselves should be presented. 1
Sources
- Tarikh al-Islam — Hasan Ibrahim Hasan, p.252-253
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Nusayriyya (Alawites)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/nusayriyya/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.