Ahl-e Haqq

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Ahl-e Haqq or Yârsân (Yarsan, Kurdish: Yâresân,[1] Yaresan,[2] Ahl-i Haqq, Ahl-e Hakk, Persian: اهل حق.) is a secret, heterodox shia-islamic order, based on the sufi belief of The Four Stages of Religion (Islam).[3] Historically, Ahl-e Haqq and other similar beliefs have been classified as Ghulat, or Extreme Shiites[4]. Ahl-e Haqq is a Kurdish phrase translatable as "People of Truth". The order was founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.[5]

Its followers are primarily found in western Iran and Iraq. Adherents are mainly from the Kurdish tribes of Guran, Qalkhani, Bajalani and Sanjabi located in western Iran, forming approximately a third of the population in the religiously diverse province of Kermanshah.[6] There are some groups located around Kirkuk in Iraq. Most adherents are ethnic Kurds and Laks, though there are also smaller groups of Lur, Azeri, Persian and Arab adherents. The Arabic-speaking adherents are based in the Iraqi cities of Mandali, Baquba, and Khanaqin.[7][8] Up to the 20th century, the Ahl-e Haqq belief was strictly for Kurds who were born into the religion. Individuals who were born into it were always known as checkedea (a drop of), but individuals who married into an Ahl-e Haqq family were called chasbedea (attached).

The total number of members of the Ahl-e Haqq religion is estimated at around 1,000,000.[9]

The Ahl-e Haqq call themselves Kaka'i in Iraq.

Contents

[edit] Religious beliefs

From the Ahl-e Haqq point of view, the universe is, like other Batini Muslims (e.g. Alevis and Ismailis), comprised of two distinct yet interrelated worlds: The inner world (Batin) and the outer world (Zahir), 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. Among other important pillars of their belief system are that the Divine Essence has successive manifestations in human form (or mazhariyyat) and the belief in transmigration of souls (or dunaduni in Kurdish). Because of the belief in Reincarnation most orthodox Muslims consider the Ahl-e Haqq belief as being beyond the bounds of Islam. The Ahl-e Haqq do not observe exoteric rites and rituals as orthodox Muslims, as these belong to Sharia stage of Ahl-e Haqq interpretation.[6]

The Yârsâns believe God manifests one primary and seven secondary avatars to form with God the Holy Seven, and re-manifests these avatars in each of the seven epochs. While the avatars of the First Epoch can be closely matched by name to the archangels of the Semitic religions, the avatars of the Second Epoch, which begins with Ali as the primary avatar, are all Muslim figures except for Nusayr. Nusayr may be interpreted as referring to the "Nazarene" (i.e. Jesus), or as Nârsch, the minor avatar who later came to be known as Theophobus. In the Fourth Epoch, the primary avatar is held to be Sultan Sahak. It is said that he was given birth by Dayerak Rezbar, a Kurdish virgin, and as in the case of Mary, it had been a virginal conception. Once while sleeping under a pomegranate tree, a kernel of fruit fell into her mouth, because a bird had nibbled the fruit directly over her and had made the kernel fall.[10]

Like the Yazidis, followers of Yârsân (or Ahl-e Haqq) believe in reincarnation. They have a famous saying about death: "Men! Do not fear the punishment of death! The death of man is like the dive which the duck makes". Human beings go through a cycle of 1,001 incarnations. During this process, they may become more purified based on their actions. Yârsân is also the native religion of Lak people.[11][12]

[edit] Haft-Tan (seven Archangels)

The Haft-Tan (seven Archangels) are key figures in the Ahl-e Haqq belief system and their history. They are (1) Benyamin, who was considered the incarnation of the archangel Gabriel, (2) Davoud (David), the incarnation of archangel Michael, (3) Mustafa, incarnation of archangel Azrael, (4) Pir Musi, (5) Shah Housain, (6) Baba Yadegar, and the only female archangel (7) Khatun-e Razbar, the mother of Sultan, the incarnation of the Virgin Mary, and the mother of Ali.

[edit] Ahl-e Haqq and Islam

Ahl-e Haqq adherents are commonly labeled as Muslims because most of the Ahl-e Haqq community, consider themselves as being Muslims and because of their belief in Muhammad as the last messenger of God. Additionaly, they are also classified as Shiites, since their veneration of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia Imam, and recognizing Islamic Shiite taqqiyyah (dissimulation). Critics of the faith refer to adherents as Ali-Ilahi's or Ali-ullahi's but according to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the name is not accurate since Ali is not the dominant figure in their religion.

Many of the elite in the Ahl-e Haqq community, however, converted to orthodox Shi'ah Islam (Jafariyya school) during the 20th century. Some[who?] have also theorized that most Kurds who are Jafaris are the descendants of Ahl-e Haqq, who had converted in the past.[13]

[edit] Ahl-e Haqq and Christianity

It was Dr. Saeed Khan Kordestani's opinion that the Ahl-e Haqq order was founded by Jesus and not Sultan Sahak.[14] He made the argument that Jesus predated both Islam and Sultan, and the fact that he is such a key figure in Ahl-e Haqq history and known as the incarnation of the archangel Gabriel. The Ahl-e Haqq also believe in the virgin birth of Jesus.

[edit] The 12 families of the Ahl-e Haqq

The original 7 families or Sadat-e Haqqiqat established during the time of Sultan were Shah Ebrahim, Baba Yadegar, Ali Qalandar, Khamoush, Mir Sour, Seyyed Mosaffa and Hajji Babou Issa. The 5 families established after Sultan Sahak are Atesh Bag, Baba Heydar, Zolnour, Shah Hayas and Hajj Nematollah.

[edit] Religious texts

The traditions of Ahl-e Haqq are preserved in a form of poetry known as Kalam-e Saranjam (Word of Saranjam). According to Ahl-e Haqq, Kalam are divinely revealed narratives passed down orally through the generations. They believe that these traditions were eventually collected and written down by the golden pen of Pir Musi, the angel in charge of recording human deeds and one of the seven companions of Sultan Sahak.[6] This collection is considered to be the Yârsân's holy book called Serenjam or Kalam-e Saranjam (The Discourse of Conclusion) and it consists of Epochs of Khawandagar (God), Ali, Shah Khoshin, and Sultan Sahak. These are the different manifestations of Divinity. The epoch of Shah Khoshin takes place in the Luristan region and the epoch of Sahak is placed in the land of Gorans (Hawraman) near the river Sirwan. The sayings attributed to Sultan Sahak are written in Gorani Kurdish, the sacred language of the Ahl-e Haqq. Some of their literature is written in the Persian language.[8]

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "The chief source of information about the Ahl-e Haqq is the Firqan al-Akhbar, written in... early 20th century by (Hajj Nematollah)..."[15]

[edit] Famous people

The famous Iranian musician and mystic, Nur Ali Elahi, was a high-ranking member of Ahl-e Haqq and published a book titled Burhan al-Haqq which is one of the few reliable sources on the subject. Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji, the self-proclaimed King of Kingdom of Kurdistan after World War I, claimed to be descended from the brother of Sultan Sahak in the twelfth generation

[edit] Sects

Ahl-i Haq and other variants of this term are at times used to refer to only one of the sects of the Ahl-e Haqq, those who clearly follow the teachings on Nur Ali Elahi and have tried to present an image of being a Shi'ite sect to end the persecution they feel that they suffered at the hands of Shi'ite Muslims until at least the 1920s.[16] However, in most cases, this term is used for all followers of the religion.

Tâyifasân are another sect, who have began to embrace this course, but are less enthusiastic about it.[citation needed]

Yarsan is used for and embraced most by those who reject being part of Islam and do not embrace the attempts at reconciliation by some of the elite.[17]

[edit] Ahl-e Haqq and Islam

 This article or section may be inaccurate or unbalanced in favor of certain viewpoints.
Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page.

Eliz Sanasarian in Religious Minorities in Iran totally ignores the Ahl-e Haqq evidently assuming that they are part of Islam.[18][opinion needs balancing] Some[who?] might say that Sanasarian just ignored the Ahl-e Haqq because of their size, but this only makes sense if Sanasarian felt they were too numerous to constitute a religious minority, since groups he did study such as the Jews and Zoroastrians number well under 100,000 in Iran, and no sepcific Christian group such as the Armenians comes close to being as large as the Ahl-e Haqq.[19][opinion needs balancing]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hamzeh'ee, M. Reza Fariborz (1995). in Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi, et.al., ed.: Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Near East, pp.101-117. ISBN 9004108610. 
  2. ^ P. G. Kreyenbroek (1992). Review of The Yaresan: A Sociological, Historical and Religio-Historical Study of a Kurdish Community, by M. Reza Hamzeh'ee, 1990, ISBN 392296883X. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol.55, No.3, pp.565-566.
  3. ^ [1] at Ahl-e Haqq.
  4. ^ [2]Political Theory of the Shiites.
  5. ^ Elahi, Bahram (1987). The path of perfection, the spiritual teachings of Master Nur Ali Elahi. ISBN 0712602003.
  6. ^ a b c Z. Mir-Hosseini (1994). "Inner Truth and Outer History: The Two Worlds of the Ahl-e Haqq of Kurdistan", International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol.26, pp.267-269.
  7. ^ Kjeilen, Tore. Ahl-e Haqq. Encyclopaedia of the Orient. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
  8. ^ a b Leezenberg, Michiel. Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing? (RTF).
  9. ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thompson Gale, 2004) p. 82
  10. ^ Nebez, Jamal (1997-09-19). The Kurds: History and Culture (PDF). Western Kurdistan Association. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
  11. ^ Religion: Cult of Angels. Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
  12. ^ Yazdanism. Encyclopaedia of the Orient. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
  13. ^ McDowall, David. A Modern History of the Kurds (New York: I. B. Tauris, 1996) p. 11
  14. ^ Yonan, Isaac Malek (1934). The Beloved Physician of Teheran. Nashville: Cokesbury Press. OCLC 1862832. 
  15. ^ Firqan-al-Akhbar at Encyclopædia Britannica.
  16. ^ http://www.kurdistanica.com/english/religion/yazdani/yaresan/yarasan.html
  17. ^ http://www.kurdistanica.com/english/religion/yazdani/yaresan/yarasan.html
  18. ^ see p. 1 of Sanasarian, Eliz. Religious Minorities in Iran
  19. ^ see p. 36-37 in Sanasarian's book to see his own estimates of the numbers of these religious minorities in Iran

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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