Hurufism
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Hurufism (Arabic حروفية hurufiyya, adjective form hurufi) is a mystical esoteric Sufi sect, that was active in areas of western Persia, Turkey and Azerbaijan in later 14th - early 15th century. The Arabic word hurūf literally means "letters (of the alphabet)".
The creator and spiritual head of the Hurufi movement was Fadlullah Astrabadi also called Naimi(1339?-1394). Born in Astrabad, Iran, he was strongly drawn to Sufism at an early age, when his mind was fired up by words of Al-Hallaj and Rumi. In mid 1370s young Naimi started to propagate his teachings all over Persia and Azerbaijan. While living in Tabriz Fadlullah gained elite following in Jalayirid court, where the writing of his main work - Jawidan-Al-Kabir allegedly took place. At that time he was still in the mainstream of Sufi tradition. Later, he did move towards more esoteric spirituality, and, failing to convert Timur was executed in 1394 near Alinja castle in Nakhichevan by the ruler's son Miranshah. The uprising of Hurufis, who had gathered a large following, was crushed in Azerbaijan, but the popular movement survived for another decade or so in different guises.
According to Fadlullah, the key to open seventh sealed book, the Qur'an, is a kabbalistic system of letters that is expounded by later Hurufis in the Hidayat-nama, Jawidan and in the Mahram-Nama. The Universe is eternal and moves by rotation. God's visage is imperishable and is manifest in Man, the best of forms — zuhur kibriya.God is incarnated in every atom. Hurufis considered Fadlullah a manifestation of God's force after Adam, Moses and Muhammed. God is also embodied in words and 28 letters of Arabic alphabet and 32 letters of Persian one 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 fatiha and verbal confession of faith. Man is a supreme copy of the divine and the key to Haqiqa.
After his death Naimi's ideas were developed and propagated by Nasimi and Ali-ul A'la in Azerbaijan and Seyid Ishag in Turkey. Poet Imadeddin Nasimi (?-1417) and other Hurufis, make kabbalistic tendencies subordinate to mystic concepts of Sufism, and specifically those of Hallaj, who was another great influence on Nasimi.
Through Nasimi's poetry, Hurufi ideas influenced, in different degrees, people like Niyazi, Fuzuli Kani, Habibi, Khatai (Ismail I), and Rusheni. Bektashi sect in Turkey and Ahl-e Haqq in Iran owe a lot of their theological vocabulary to Hurufism.
The Bektashi order in Balkans (Albania) have preserved the legacy of Fadlullah's teachings the longest and still continue to this day.
[edit] Contemporary References
- The scenes of Fadlullah's execution and of Nasimi's brutal flailing in Aleppo appear in the Azeri language movie "Nasimi" (1973)
- Hurufism plays a role in Turkish author Orhan Pamuk's novel The Black Book.
[edit] References
H.T. Norris "The Hurufi Legacy of Fadlullah of Astarabad", in Heritage of Sufism, 2003. Oxford, One World
Shahzad Bashir Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis. Oneworld Publications (May 25, 2005)
