Devil worship

A scholarly translation and critical study presents an Arabic manuscript of Yezidi sacred literature, featuring a brief Kitāb al-Jilwah attributed to Šeiḫ ‘Adî and a larger Maṣḥaf Rêš that recounts creation in seven days, the emergence of angelic rulers, Adam and Eve traditions, and regulations on food, marriage, and festivals. The analytical section explores the sect's religious origins and myths, surveys Christian, Muslim, and Western interpretations, and explicates central doctrines including the community's conception of God, the elevated figure Melek Ṭâʾûs and other saintly personages. Ritual practice, sacraments, sacerdotal orders, social customs, tribal distribution, persecution, and appendixes of prayers, poems, and administrative petitions complete the work.