Three Blessings / Hermes the Thrice-Greatest

8:19 PM | BY ZeroDivide EDIT

 "Müselles bin Ni'ma" is not a personal name but an epithet for a single figure.

1. Biography and Origin

The title "Müselles bin Ni'ma" (Arabic: $المُثَلَّث بِالنِّعْمَة$, $al-Muthallath bi-l-Ni'mah$) is an Islamic epithet for the prophet Idris.

  • Identity: This figure is identified with the biblical patriarch Enoch.

  • Syncretism: In Islamic, Hermetic, and esoteric traditions, Idris/Enoch was also syncretized with the Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus ("Hermes the Thrice-Greatest") and the Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth.

  • Title Equivalence: "Müselles bin Ni'ma" is the direct Arabic and Turkish equivalent of the Greek title "Trismegistus" (Thrice-Greatest).

2. Etymology

The name is a compound Arabic title:

  • Müselles (Muthallath): From the Arabic root $ث ل ث$ ($th-l-th$), meaning "three." $Muthallath$ (مُثَلَّث) means "three-fold," "tripled," or "thrice."

  • bin Ni'ma (bi-l-Ni'mah):

    • $Bi-$ (بِـ) is a preposition meaning "with" or "by."

    • $al-Ni'mah$ (النِّعْمَة) means "the blessing" or "the grace."

The full title translates literally as "The Thrice-Blessed" or "He who is tripled by grace."

3. Meaning of the Title (The Three Blessings)

The epithet "Thrice-Blessed" refers to the three unique dignities that Islamic scholars attributed to Idris:

  1. Prophethood ($Nubuwwa$)

  2. Wisdom ($Hikma$): He was considered the first to teach astronomy, writing (with a pen), and sewing.

  3. Kingship ($Mulk$)

An alternative tradition, mentioned by the 9th-century astrologer Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, suggests the title refers to three separate figures, all named Hermes or Idris, who lived in different eras (pre-flood, post-flood in Babylon, and in Egypt).