Hurufism (Arabic: حروفية hurufiyya, adjective form hurufi) was a mystical kabbalistic[1] Sufi doctrine, which spread in areas of western Persia, Anatolia and Azerbaijan in later 14th - early 15th century. The Arabic word hurūf literally means "letters (of the alphabet)".
Foundation
The creator and spiritual head of the Hurufi movement was Fazlallah Astarabadi also called Naimi (1340-1394). Born in Astrabad, Iran, he was strongly drawn to Sufism and the teachings of Al-Hallaj and Rumi at an early age. 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 Alinjak 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.
Key Elements of Hurufism
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 Muhammad. 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.
According to R. N. Frye's "Cambridge History of Iran"[2], Hurufism was an expression of Ismailism in its mystical identification of human figure, but differed in recognition Haqiqa in the substance of letters rather than in the person of the Imam.
Impact of Hurufism
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 Niyaz-i Misri, Fuzuli, Habibi, Khatai (Ismail I), and Rushani. 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. Gül Baba provided an extensive compendium of Hurufi ideas The Key to the Unseen .
Contemporary Infuences
- The scenes of Fadlullah's execution and of Nasimi's brutal flailing in Aleppo appear in the Azeri language movie "Nasimi" (1973)
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)
Fatih Usluer, "Le Houroufisme. La doctrine et son influence dans la littérature persane et ottomane", EPHE-Paris, Phd Thesis, 2007.
Fatih Usluer, "Misâlî'nin Miftâhu’l Gayb'ı Metin ve Açıklama", Turkish Studies, International Periodical for the Languages, Litterature and History of Turkish or Turkic, Volume 2/2, Spring, S. 2, www.turkishstudies.net, (Ed. Prof. Dr. Gurer GULSEVİN- Dr. Mehmet Dursun ERDEM), pp. 697-722.
Fatih Usluer, "Hurûfî Metinleri ile İlgili Bazı Notlar", Ege Üniversitesi Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Araştırmaları Dergisi, S. 13, Ocak/Jan 2007.
See also
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