Shahrat

An 18th-century manuscript of the Scroll of Abatur in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. The illustration on top depicts the ship Shahrat ferrying Mandaean souls towards the house of Abatur, while the lower illustration shows the tree of Shatrin with the souls of unbaptized children.
Carving of a ship carrying Mandaean souls, on the front door of Ganzibra Dakhil Mandi in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It is based on the manuscript illustration above.
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In Mandaeism, Shahrat (Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡀࡄࡓࡀࡕ, romanized: Šahrat, lit. 'she kept watch') is a ship or boat mentioned in the Scroll of Abatur. Shahrat ferries souls from Tibil across the river Hitpun and into the house of Abatur.[1] According to the Mandaean priest Brikha Nasoraia (2021), it is basically a "space-ship" traveling "faster than the speed of light" through ayar (ether) to higher realms.[2]: 71 

In Mandaean Book of John 55:60–61, the ship ferrying souls to the house of Abatur is described as follows.[3]

I (Hibil Ziwa) made a ship for the good,
a ferry of souls carrying them,
over to Abatur's house,
who gives them strength and truth from head to toe.
  1. ^ Drower, Ethel S. (1950). Diwan Abatur or Progress through the Purgatories. Studi e Testi. Vol. 151. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
  2. ^ Nasoraia, Brikha H.S. (2021). The Mandaean gnostic religion: worship practice and deep thought. New Delhi: Sterling. ISBN 978-81-950824-1-4. OCLC 1272858968.
  3. ^ Haberl, Charles and McGrath, James (2020). The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-048651-3. OCLC 1129155601.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)