Qulasta

The Qulasta is a very important collection of Mandaean prayers. In the Mandaic language, the word qolastā simply means a "collection."

This book is used by the Mandaean people for many sacred rituals. Some prayers are for baptisms, which are called maṣbuta. Other prayers are for the masiqta, which is the journey of the soul. People also use it for weddings and for making new priests. There is no single standard version of this prayerbook. Because of this, different books can have different numbers of prayers.

One complete version might have about 340 prayers.

Different scholars have studied these prayers in many ways. The way the prayers are organized can change between versions. For example, Mark Lidzbarski published a German translation in 1920. His version included a special part called the Oxford Collection. This collection had 132 prayers divided into four parts. These parts included devotional prayers for different days of the week. There were also prayers for marriage and for carrying a banner. Another famous version was translated by E. S. Drower in 1959. His version, called the Canonical Prayerbook, contains 414 prayers.

Finding out when the Qulasta was first made is a big mystery. Many thinkers debate the exact date of the text. Some believe it was written as early as the first century. Others think it might date to the second or third centuries. A scholar named Torgny Säve-Söderbergh suggested it is very old. He thought some parts were used by the Manichaeans before the 3rd century. However, another scholar named Kevin van Bladel has a different idea. He thinks the text might be newer because it mentions Arab armies.

We know a lot about the history of these manuscripts. A scribe named Nukraya lived during the early Islamic period. He wrote that he copied the text using seven different manuscripts. One of these manuscripts came from a library of "a People of the Book." Another came from a Byzantine Christian town. This tells us that Mandaean texts were kept in many different places. In 1867, Julius Euting published a printed Mandaic version. Later, Carlos Gelbert translated many prayers into Arabic in 2002. In 2025, he and Mark J. Lofts published a full English translation.

Learning about the Qulasta helps us understand Mandaean traditions. The book connects many parts of life through prayer. It covers daily life, like prayers for every day of the week. It also covers big life changes, like marriage or becoming a priest. Some prayers are even used for special ceremonies like the tarmida.

By looking at these old writings, we see how people express their faith. The Qulasta remains a central part of their sacred life. It shows how people have kept their traditions alive for a long time.