Reward of Good Deeds and Angels of Gifts at the Gate of Paradise: A Textological Approach to the Angels of the Spirit of the Pious in Manichaeism

In the present article, based on the original Manichaean documents such as Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, and Coptic writings, as well as a non-Manichaean source i.e. Ibn al-Nadim’s al-Fehrest, I will try to identify the reward for the good deeds of a pious human being after death and the angels who come to visit him with a few gifts in order to accompany him to the Light Paradise, along with a beautiful and fragrant virgin who appears to the believer before being judged and is, in fact, the beautiful image and shape of his good thoughts, words, and deeds. This textological study shows that, among the various rewards mentioned in various Manichaean and non-Manichaean sources, three rewards of garment, garland, and diadem are part of the original Manichaean eschatological system and other rewards are either equivalent to these three gifts or subsequent additions. As the present article argues, in Manichaeism not only the concept of the Virgin of Good Deeds is based on the Zoroastrian concept of "Daena", but also the concept of the Manichaean reward-giver angels is rooted in the Indo-Iranian traditions.