Yarsan
Yarsan (also referred to as
Yaresan in
Kurdish) (
Persian:اهل حق,
"Ahl-e Haqq", derived from an
Arabic phrase translatable as
"People of the Truth" and as
"Men of God"[
1]) is a
religious order of
Yazdanism, and is currently primarily found in western
Iran.
According to Encyclopaedia Kurdistanica, Yarsan,
Yazidism and
Alevi are three branches of
Cult of Angels or
Yazdanism, a native
Kurdish religion [
2]. Yarsan adherents are commonly labelled as
Muslims because they adopted several superficial features, including veneration of
Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth
Caliph, and recognizing Islamic
taqqiyya (dissimulation). Critics of the faith refer to adherents as
Ali-Ilahis or
Aliullahis butaccording to the
Encyclopaedia of Islam, the name Aliullahi (Ali Ilahi) applied to them by their neighbours is not accurate since Ali is not the dominant figure in their religion [
3].
Adherents today still live in the western provinces of Iran, many in the
Kermanshah province, close to the Iraqi border. There are also groups located around
Kirkuk in
Iraq. Most adherents are of
Kurdish ethnicity, though there are also groups of
Laki-Kurds,
Lur,
Azeri and
Persian adherents [
4]. There are also
Arabic-speaking adherents in the Iraqi cities of
Mandali,
Baquba, and
Khanaqin [
5].
The order is supposed to have been founded by
Sultan Sahâk, a largely mythical figure in the early
16th century AD in western Iran, but since it is a
mystical order, not many verifiable facts are known about them. The Order of Ahl-e-Haqq is a strictly closed circle. Part of their literature is written in the Persian language [
6].
The Yârsâns believe
God manifests one primary and 5 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 Christ, 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 Sahâk. It is said that he was given birth by Mama Jelale a
Kurdish maiden (female 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 ([
7], page 23).
There are similarities between Ahl-e-Haqq and the (Turkish-Kurdish)
Alevis, though how closely these similarities point to evidence of a joint origin remains in dispute. Others see a similarity to the
Yezidis, though much of this debate must remain speculation, as all these groups have few published writings and favour secretive religious practices.
Like the Yazidis, followers of Yarsan or "Ahl-i 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. The scene of last Judgement will take place in the plains of
Sharazur (
Kirkuk) [
8].
The Yarsan's holy book is called
Serencam, which is the collections of their
legends, consisting of
Epoch of Khawandagar,
Epoch of Ali,
Epoch of Khoshin, and
Epoch of Sohak. These are the different manifestations of
Divinity. The epoch of Khoshin takes place in the
Luristan region and the epoch of Sohak is placed in the Land of
Gorans (
Hawraman) near the river
Sirwan. The sayings attributed to Sultan Sohak are written in
Gorani Kurdish, the sacred language of the Ahl-i Haqq [
9].
The famous
Iranian musician and mystic
Nour Ali Elahi was a high-ranked member of Ahl-e-Haqq and published a book about beliefs and practices of this order 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 Sohak in the twelfth generation [
10].
*
Alevi*
Ahl-i Haqq, from
Encyclopaedia of Islam.
*
Introduction to Yarsan Religion*
Yarsan (in Kurdish/Persian)
*
Cult of Angels*
Ahl-e Haqq: An Oriental Order of Mysticism*
The official site of Nour Ali Elahi*
Ahle Haqq music , Razbar Ensemble*
Information to Yarsanism Click forward on "Cult of Angels" then "Yaresanism"
*
Status of Yaresan in Iran
