Rushuma
The rushuma is one of the most commonly recited prayers in Mandaeism. It is a "signing" prayer recited during daily ablutions. The same word can also be used to refer to the ritual signing gesture associated with the prayer.
The rushuma is numbered as Prayer 104 in E. S. Drower's version of the Qulasta, which was based on manuscript 53 of the Drower Collection. In Drower's ordering, the Asut Malkia prayer follows the rushuma prayer, while the ʿniana prayers come before the rushuma.
Signing
Rushuma or rushma literally means "sign" or "signing". Many lines in the prayer are repeated three times as the reciter signs the rushuma front of the face with his or her fingers.Mandaic text and translation
Below is the transliterated Mandaic text of the Rushuma prayer, based on Majid [Fandi Al-Mubaraki]'s Qulasta as edited by Matthew Morgenstern and Ohad Abudraham in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon. The English translation is original.| Mandaic transliteration | English translation |
Use in ritual procedures
Each part of the rushuma corresponds to each of the following rishama ritual procedures.| Rushuma prayer text | Rishama ritual procedure |
| while approaching the river | |
| stoop and wash hands | |
| wash the face three times, taking water in the hands | |
| take water in the hand and sign from ear to ear across the forehead, from right to left | |
| three times, dip two fingers in the river and cleanse the ears | |
| take water into the palm, snuff it three times up into the nose | |
| wash the lower part of the body | |
| take water into the mouth from the palm, rinsing it out three times | |
| wash the knees three times | |
| wash the legs three times | |
| dabble the fingers in the river, with the hands together and the palms downwards | |
| dip the right foot twice and the left foot once into the river |