| Yarsanism یارسان | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Ethnic religion |
| Classification | Iranian,Abrahamic |
| Scripture | Kalâm-e Saranjâm |
| Theology | Syncretic |
| Region | Iraqi Kurdistan,Iranian Kurdistan |
| Language | Kurdish languages;Gorani language |
| Founder | Sultan Sahak |
| Origin | late 14th century Western Iran |
| Members | c. 500,000[1] to 1,000,000 (in Iran)[2] |
| Other name(s) | Ahl-e Haqq,Kaka'i[3] |
Yarsanism (Kurdish:یارسان,romanized: Yarsan),Ahl-e Haqq (Kurdish:ئەهلی حەق,romanized: Ehlî Ḧeq;[4][5]Persian:اهل حق), orKaka'i,[3] is aninherited,syncretic religion founded bySultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.[6] The total number of followers of Yarsanism is estimated to be over half a million[1] to one million inIran.[2] The numbers in Iraq are unknown. Followers are mostlyKurds from theGuran,Sanjâbi,Kalhor,Zangana and Jalalvand tribes,[1] as well as someShabaks.[7] There are also ethnicTurkoman Yarsanis in Iran.[8]
Some Yarsanis in Iraq are calledKaka'i.[3] Yarsanis say that some people call them disparagingly as "Ali Allahi" or "worshipers ofAli", labels which Yarsanis deny. Many Yarsanis hide their religion due to the pressure of Iran's Islamic system, and there are no exact statistics of their population.[9]
The Yarsanis have a distinct religious literature primarily written in theGorani language. However, few modern Yarsani can read or write Gorani, as their mother tongue isSouthern Kurdish orSorani.[10]
Their central religious book is called theKalâm-e Saranjâm, written in the 15th century and based on the teachings ofSultan Sahak.
The majority of Yarsan followers live inKermanshah Province and adjacent areas ofLorestan Province andIlam Province inIran. They are the predominant religious population inMahidasht,Bivanij and Zohab districts of Kermanshah, and populate rural areas ofDelfan,Holeylan and Posht-e Kuh in Ilam and Lorestan.[11]
The main urban centers of the religion areSahneh,Kerend-e Gharb andGahvareh, and other important cities includeKermanshah,Sarpol-e Zahab andQasr-e Shirin.[1]
Other areas in Iran with a significant Yarsan population includeHashtgerd andVaramin nearTehran andMaragheh, andTabriz inIranian Azerbaijan,[1] where important Turkic-speaking Yarsan communities live and useTurkic for many of their religious texts. The Yarsani tradition claims that all early communities usedGorani as their religious language, but that over time, some groups were forced to adopt a Turkic language closely akin toAzeri for all purposes, including religion.[12]
In Iraq, Yarsan followers mainly live inMosul,Kirkuk,Kalar,Khanaqin,Erbil,Sulaymaniyah, andHalabja.[1][13][14][15]
The Yarsani follow the mystical teachings ofSultan Sahak (fl. 14th–15th century). From the Yarsani point of view, the universe is composed of two distinct yet interrelated worlds: the internal (bātinī) and the external (zāhirī), each having its own order and rules. Although humans are only aware of the outer world, their lives are governed according to the rules of the inner world. This aspect of the Yarsani faith can be identified asKurdishesoterism which emerged under the intense influence ofBātinī-Sufism.[citation needed]
Among other important pillars of their belief system are that the Divine Essence has successive manifestations in human form (mazhariyyat) and the belief intransmigration of the soul (dunaduni inKurdish). Yarasani believe that every man needs to do what is written within their holy book, theKalâm-e Saranjâm, otherwise they are not part of Yarsan. There is no compulsion or exclusion in Yarsan – anyone who chooses to follow its precepts is welcome.
The Yarsani faith's features includemillenarism,innatism,egalitarianism,metempsychosis,angelology, divine manifestation anddualism.[17]
The Yarsani areemanationists and incarnationists, believing that the Divine Essence has successiveincarnations known asmazhariyyats (similar to theHinduavatars). They believe God manifests one primary and seven secondary manifestations in each epoch of the world, in either angel or human form. These seven persons are known as "Heft tan", which means "The Seven Persons".
The primarymazhariyyat of the First Epoch was the Divine Essence known as Khawandagar, who created the world.
The primarymazhariyyat of the Second Epoch wasAli ibn Abi Talib, the fourthcaliph and first imam ofShia Islam. This explains the alternative name for YarsanisAli-Allahi, "Believers in the divinity of Ali".
The primarymazhariyyat of the Third Epoch was Shah Khoshin.[18]
In the Fourth Epoch, the primarymazhariyyat is held to beSultan Sahak. It is said that his mother was Dayerak Rezbar or Khatun-e Rezbar, a Kurdish virgin of theCaf tribe. While sleeping under apomegranate tree a kernel of fruit fell into her mouth when a bird pecked the fruit directly over her.[19] Sources vary on Rezbar’s marital life, some state that she lived her entire life celibate and unmarried while most state that she had married. Sources that claim she had married either contest her husband as being a Kurdish man named "Şêx Îsa" from a priestly line of the Berzencî tribe or an ArabSayyid man. Whether either of these men even fathered Sahak is also contested among Yarsanis who believe she had married either one of them, as the virgin birth of Sahak is contested by Yarsani scholars though the presumed father or stepfather of Sahak is not regarded as a significant religious figure in Yarsanism.[20][21]
Each Epoch in Yarsani belief saw the appearance of the seven secondary divine manifestations orHaft Tan. In the First Epoch they appeared in their true angelic form, while in subsequent Epochs they appeared in human incarnations. TheHaft Tan are charged with responsibility for the affairs of the internal realm.
The secondarymazhariyyats of the First Epoch include the archangelsGabriel,Michael,Israfil andAzrael, and a female angelic being.
Themazhariyyats of the Second Epoch include Salman, Qanbar,Muhammad, Nusayr (who is eitherJesus Christ orTheophobus) andBahlool. It also includesFatimah, the daughter of Muhammad as the incarnation of the female angel.
Themazhariyyats of the Third Epoch includeShah Fazlullah Veli, Baba Sarhang Dudani and Baba Naous.
In the Fourth Epoch, theHaft Tan or 'seven persons' charged by Sultan Sahak with responsibility for the affairs of the inner realm consist of the following:[22]
The "Haft Tan" (The SevenArchangels) are key figures in the Yarsani belief system and their history. The only female among them is Khatun-e Rezbar, the mother of Sultan Sahak.
These seven persons are known as "Haft tan" which means literally "The Seven Persons"
The traditions of the Yarsani are preserved in poetry known asKalâm-e Saranjâm (The Discourse of Conclusion), divinely revealed narratives passed down orally through the generations. These traditions are said to have been written down by Pir Musi, one of the seven companions of Sultan Sahak (also the angel in charge of recording human deeds).[23] The collection consists of the epochs of Khawandagar [God], ‘Alī, Shah Khoshin and Sultan Sahak, the different manifestations ofdivinity. The epoch of Shah Khoshin takes place inLuristan and the epoch of Sultan Sahak is placed inHawraman near theSirwan River, the land of theGoranî. Also important to theGoranî is the Daftar-e kezana-ye Perdivari (Book of the Treasure of Perdivar), a collection of twenty six mythological poems orkalams.[24]
The sayings attributed to Sultan Sahak are written inGorani Kurdish, the sacred language of the Ahl-e Haqq, which also is known asHawrami dialects. However, few modern Yarsani can read or writeGorani as their mother tongues areSouthern Kurdish andSorani Kurdish, which belong to the other two branches of the Kurdish language family. Some Yarsani literature is written in the Persian language.[25]
The older texts are called the Perdiwari texts, which date back to around the 15th or 16th centuries. The texts are called Perdiwari sincePerdiwar is whereSoltan Sahak had first founded the Yarsani community. The Perdiwari texts are attributed to writers from this first community of Yarsani believers. They include the following texts.[26]
Widely known non-Perdiwari texts are:[26]
Two important sanctuaries of the Yarsani are the tomb of Bābā Yādgār, about 40 km away fromSarpol-e Zahab inKermanshah Province and the tomb of Dawoud atZarde, about three kilometres east of Sarpol-e Zahab.[27][28] Another important shrine is that of Sultan Suhak in Sheykhan, near Perdīvar bridge in Kermanshah Province.[29][24] The tombs of Pir Benjamin and Pir Musi in the town ofKerend inKermanshah Province, Iran are also important shrines.[30]
Yarsanism is organised into spiritual houses or Khandans, seven of which were established at the time of Sultan Sahak, and four afterwards, making eleven Khandans in all. The Khandans were established when, along with theHaft Tan, Sultan Sahak also formed theHaft Tawane, a group of seven holy persons charged with the affairs of the outer world.[22] They were Say-yed Mohammad, Say-yed Abu'l Wafa, Haji Babusi, Mir Sur, Say-yed Mostafa, Sheykh Shahab al-Din and Sheykh Habib Shah. Each of theHaft Tawane was charged with responsibility for the guidance of a number of followers, and these followers formed the original seven Khandans, namely Shah Ebrahim, Baba Yadegar, Ali Qalandar, Khamush, Mir Sur, Sey-yed Mosaffa and Hajji Babu Isa. After Sultan Sahak's time another four khandans were established, namely Atesh Bag, Baba Heydar, Zolnour and Shah Hayas.[31]
Every Yarsani therefore belongs to one specific khandan, which is led by a spiritual leader called a say-yed, to whom each member must swear obedience. The say-yed is the spiritual leader of the community and is normally present during the ceremonies attended by the followers. Say-yeds are the only ones allowed to have full access to the religious texts of Yarsanism, and have traditionally competed with each other to have the largest number of followers. The position of Say-yed is hereditary, being passed down through the generations from the original founders. As the say-yed are considered spiritual 'parents', it is the tradition for them not to marry their followers.
.jpg)
An excerpt from the French Review of the Muslim World[32] describes the difficulty in nomenclature for Yarsanism and relatedShi'ite mysticism. The English translation reads:
First of all, we must clear up the confusion resulting from the variety of names given to the sect of "Ahlé-Haqq", which are liable to be misunderstood. Like any religion, the one we are dealing with considers itself to be the only true and orthodox one, and it is natural that its adherents give themselves the name of "People of Truth" (Ahlé-Haqq orAhlé-Haqîqat). This term lacks precision, as other sects, for example theHoroufis, occasionally apply it to themselves. Still, the name Ahlé-Haqq to refer to the sect of our particular interest has every advantage over appellations such as "Gholat", "Alî-Allâhi", and "Noséïri" that the Muslims and most European travellers use in speaking of them. The first term, which encompasses all of the extremist Shi’ites, is too broad and too vague. The second term, "deifiers of Ali", has the same fault and emphasizes what is only a detail in the religious system under discussion. Finally, the name "Noséïri" belongs to that well-defined Syrian religion, which, despite some resemblances with the doctrines of the Ahlé-Haqq (the worship of Ali, the communion, etc.), appears to present a complex of quite different old beliefs.
Ahl-e Haqq view Islam as a product of a cycle of divine essence, which was made manifest inAli, and established the stage ofshai'at (Islamic law). This was followed by the cycle oftariqat (Sufi teachings), thenma'rifat (Sufi gnosis), and finally the current cycle ofhaqiqat (Ultimate Truth), which was made manifest inSultan Sahak. The final stage supersedes the previous ones, which frees Ahl-e Haqq from observing the shari'a rules incumbent on Muslims. Ahl-i Haqq class other Muslims as either Ahl-i Tashayyu (followers of Shi'ism) or Ahl-i Tasannun (followers of Sunnism). The Ahl-i Haqq neither observe Muslim rites, such as daily prayers and fasting during the month of Ramadan, nor share Islamic theology and sacred space, such as belief in the day of resurrection and sanctity of the mosque.[33]
Extremist Sunni Islamic groups, such as theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant andal-Qaeda, regard the followers of Yarsanism as unbelievers who have to convert to Islam or die. These militants have persecuted Yarsanis during theIraq conflict, possibly prompting some Iraqi Yarsan community leaders to declare in 2013 that their people were actually Muslims to avoid sectarian attacks.[34][35]
.svg)
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Collections of Yarsani texts published in Iran and Iraq:
