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TheNuqtavi (Persian:نقطویانNuqṭawiyyah) movement was founded byMahmoud Pasikhani (Persian:محمود پسیخانی) when he proclaimed himself theMahdi in 1397. The group is an offshoot ofHurufism, from which Pasīkhānī was expelled for arrogance. The group first arose inAnjudan nearKashan an area known for itsNizari Isma'ili Shia Islam. The group attempted to proclaimTahmasp I as Mahdi after Pasikhani died.
Mahmoud Pasikhani never married and encouraged celibacy among his followers saying that the celibate have reached the rank ofwāḥid, which has the numerical value of nineteen. The Nuqtavis placed an exceptionally heavy emphasis on the number nineteen. They also advanced a cyclical view of time, which is reminiscent of the Isma'ilis.[1] The Nuqtavis held that the total length of the Earth's existence is 64,000 years and that this is divided into four periods of 16,000 years and these in turn are subdivided into two sections of 8,000 years, one anArab epoch and the other aPersian epoch.[1]
The Nuqtavis owe most of their doctrines to the ḥurūfis. Most obviously the personal link between Mahmoud Pasikhani andFazlallah Astarabadi (d.1394), founder of Hurufism. The notable influences were the obsession with the numerical and phonemic meanings of the letters of thePersian alphabet. Likewise, Astarabadi had proclaimed himself Mahdi as well as Jesus returned. Like many of the Muslim splinter groups in Iran, Hurufis believed that Astarabadi'sJavedanname abrogated previous revelation (i.e. theQur'an).
The writings of Ali Mohammad Shirazi, known as theBáb, contained many codifiedchronograms,cabbalistic interpretations, talismanic figures, astrological tables, and numerical calculations, some of which appear to be similar to Nuqtavi symbolism. ʿAlī Muḥammad Nāżim al-Sharī‘ah claims that the Báb was taught the Nuqtavi doctrines while imprisoned inMaku and that he incorporated them directly into hisBayán.[1] Saiedi states, however, that while some elements found in the Nuqtavi school are confirmed in the writings of the Báb (Nuqtaye Ula), the literal emphasis that the Nuqtavi school placed on letters as direct elements of divine creation are foreign to the Báb's teachings; his teachings have little to do with the issue of the actual letters or their literal divine character, but instead, concern a mystical world view where the sacred character of human beings is the image of God.[2]
