Hurufism ( ''ḥurūfiyyah'',

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: حُروفیان ''horūfiyān'') was a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

movement based on the

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

of letters (''ḥurūf''), which originated in

Astrabad Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the northeast of the national capital Tehran, and some a ...

and spread to areas of western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

) and

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

Foundation

The founder and spiritual head of the Hurufi movement was

Fazlallah Astarabadi Fażlu l-Lāh Astar-Ābādī (, 1339/40 in Astarābād – 1394 in Nakhchivan), also known as Fażlullāh Tabrīzī AstarābādīIrène Mélikoff. ''Hadji Bektach: un mythe et ses avatars : genèse et évolution du soufisme populaire en Turquie' ...

(1340–94). Born in Astrabad (now

Gorgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...

, Iran), he was strongly drawn to

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

and the teachings of

Mansur al-Hallaj Mansour al-Hallaj () or Mansour Hallaj () ( 26 March 922) ( Hijri 309 AH) was a Persian HanbaliChristopher Melchert, "The Ḥanābila and the Early Sufis," ''Arabica'', T. 48, Fasc. 3 (2001), p. 352 mystic, poet, and teacher of Sufism. He ...

and

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

at an early age. In the mid-1370s, Fazlallah started to propagate his teachings all over

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. While living in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, Fazlallah gained an elite following in the court of the Jalairid Sultanate. At that time, Fazlallah was still in the mainstream of Sufi tradition. Later, he did move towards more esoteric spirituality, and, failing to convert

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

, was executed in 1394 near

Alinja Tower The Alinja Tower, also known as Alinjagala, Alinja-gala () or the Armenian fortress of Yernjak up to the 14th century«Крепость Ернджак (Алинджа-кала)» /Бюллетень Кавказского историко-архе ...

in Nakhchivan by the ruler's son,

Miran Shah Mirza Jalal-ud-din Miran Shah Beg (1366 – 20 April 1408), commonly known as Miran Shah (), was a son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur, founder of the Timurid Empire. During his father's reign, Miran Shah was initially a powerful regio ...

. The large uprising of Hurufis was crushed, but the popular movement survived for another decade or so in different guises. Fazlallah's greatest work was the ''Jāvdānnāme-ye Kabir'' ("Great Book of Eternity"), likely written in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

before his arrest, which survived due to its dissemination due to copies made by his daughter Makhdumzāde. It was largely preserved in popular culture due to its use by dervishes of the

Bektashi Order Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

Key elements

According to Fazlallah, the key to open the seventh sealed book, the

Qurʾan The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, is a kabbalistic system of letters that is expounded by later Hurufis in the ''Hidayat Namah'', ''Jawidan'' and in the ''Mahram Namah''. The

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...

is eternal and moves by rotation.

Divine countenance The divine countenance is the face of God. The concept has special significance in the Abrahamic religions. In Islam Islam considers God to be beyond ordinary vision as the Quran states that "Sights cannot attain him; he can attain sights", but ...

is imperishable and is manifest in Man, the best of forms, ''zuhur kibriya''. God is incarnated in every atom. Hurufis considered

a manifestation of God's force after

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

. God is also embodied in words and the 28 letters of the

Arabic alphabet The Arabic alphabet, or the Arabic abjad, is the Arabic script as specifically codified for writing the Arabic language. It is a unicase, unicameral script written from right-to-left in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters, of which most ...

, and the 32 letters of the

Persian alphabet The Persian alphabet (), also known as the Perso-Arabic script, is the right-to-left alphabet used for the Persian language. It is a variation of the Arabic script with four additional letters: (the sounds 'g', 'zh', 'ch', and 'p', respecti ...

are the basis for love and beauty in the world. Seven is a key number corresponding to noble parts of the face, the verses of ''

Al-Fatiha Al-Fatiha () is the first chapter () of the Quran. It consists of seven verses (') which consist of a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as ''salah''. The primary literal mea ...

'' and verbal confession of faith. Man is a supreme copy of the divine and the key to ''

haqiqa Haqiqa (Arabic "truth") is one of "the four stages" in Sufism, (exoteric path), (esoteric path), (mystical truth) and (final mystical knowledge, ''unio mystica''). The four stages Shariat is Islamic law or Islamic jurisprudence as revea ...

''. According to R. N. Frye's ''

The Cambridge History of Iran ''The Cambridge History of Iran'' is a multi-volume survey of Iranian history published in the United Kingdom by Cambridge University Press. The seven volumes cover "the history and historical geography of the land which is present-day Iran, as w ...

'', Hurufism was an expression of

Isma'ilism Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the ...

in its mystical identification of the human figure but differed in its recognition of ''haqiqa'' in the substance of letters rather than in the person of the

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Impact

After Fazlallah's death his ideas were further developed and propagated by

Imadaddin Nasimi Seyid Ali Imadaddin Nasimi (; ), commonly known as simply Nasimi (), was a 14th- and 15th-century Hurufi poet who composed poetry in his native Azerbaijani, as well as Persian and Arabic languages. He is regarded as one of the greatest Turk ...

and " certain accursed ones of no significance" in Azerbaijan and Seyid Ishag in Turkey. The poet

(?–1417) and other Hurufis make

kabbalistic Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (). Jewi ...

tendencies subordinate to mystic concepts of Sufism, and specifically those of Mansur Al-Hallaj, who was another great influence on Imadaddin Nasimi. Through Nasimi's poetry Hurufi ideas influenced, to different degrees, people like Niyazi-i Misri,

Fuzûlî Muhammad bin Suleyman (, ; 1483–1556), better known by his pen name Fuzuli (, ), was a 16th-century poet who composed works in his native Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani, as well as Persian language, Persian and Arabic. He is regarded as on ...

, Habibi,

Ismail I Ismail I (; 17 July 1487 – 23 May 1524) was the founder and first shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death in 1524. His reign is one of the most vital in the history of Iran, and the Safavid period is often considered the beginn ...

, and Rushani. The Bektashi Order, which is still active in

and the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, was a repository for the Hurufi teachings and writings. One of Fazlallah's personal students, Rafî'î, emigrated into the Balkans. He transmitted a central thesis of Hurufism, that the cardinalities of the Arabic and Persian alphabet respectively enumerate all types of shape and sound, by axes of symmetry. A Hurufi rebellion in Kwarezem was suppressed by the Mongols, and that motivated the exodus of Hurufis to the Balkans. The Bektashi manuscripts show almost 500 years of Hurufism in the Balkans, with a peak in the 1700s. Other Sufi orders, such as the

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

and the

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

, contributed in the collection, retrieval, and translation of Hurufi manuscripts.

Hurufi manuscripts

From the Balkans, a great number of records were recorded in what is today Albania, but the relation between Bektashism and Hurufism is evidenced from Greek transcriptions. In total, many of the Hurufi manuscripts that are existent today were safeguarded in the libraries of Bektashi lodges, including '' Fadl’Allah Yazdânî’s Cāvidān-Nāma'', ''Shaykh Sāfî’s Hākikāt-Nāma, Ali’ûl-A’lâ’s Māhşar-Nāma'', ''Amîr Gıyâs’ad-Dîn’s İstivâ-Nāme'', ''Frişte Oğlu’s Ahirat-Nāma'', and some other books written on "Hurufi Theology" like ''Aşık-Nāma'', ''Hidāyat-Nāma'', ''Mukāddama’t-ûl-Hākayık'', ''Muhārram-Nāma-i Sayyid İshāk'', ''Nihāyat-Nāma'', ''Tûrāb-Nāma'', ''Miftāh’ûl-Gayb'', ''Tuhfat’ûl-Uşşak'', ''Risâla-i Noktā'', ''Risāle-i Hurûf'', ''Risāla-i Fāzl’ûl-Lah'', and ''Risāla-i Virān Abdāl''. Hurufi terms and concepts permeate Bektāshi poetry.

Gül Baba Gül Baba (died 1541), also known as Jafer, was an Ottoman Bektashi dervish poet and companion of Sultan Suleiman I () who took part in a number of campaigns in Europe from the reign of Mehmed II onwards. Biography A native of Merzifon ...

provided an extensive compendium of Hurufi ideas in ''The Key to the Unseen''.

In contemporary culture

* The scenes of Fazlallah's execution and of Nasimi's brutal flailing in Aleppo appear in the ''Nasimi'' (1973) movie produced in Azerbaijan SSR. * Hurufism plays a role in Turkish author Orhan Pamuk's novel ''The Black Book''. * Hurufism also plays a role in Ian McDonald's futuristic novel, ''

The Dervish House ''The Dervish House'' is a 2010 science fiction novel by British author Ian McDonald. The novel was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2011, and won the BSFA Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in the same year. It was a ...

''.

References

External links

Encyclopedia Iranica, HORUFISMEncyclopedia Iranica, JĀVDĀN-NĀMA, the major work of Fażl-Allāh AstarābādiEncyclopedia Iranica, ASTARĀBĀDĪ, FAŻLALLĀH (d. 796/1394), founder of the Ḥorūfī sect.Encyclopedia Iranica, ʿALĪ AL-AʿLĀ (d. 822/1419), also known as Amīr Sayyed ʿAlī, principal successor of Fażlallāh Astarābādī.