Deciphering the cosmos from creation to apocalypse: The Hurufiyya movement and medieval Islamic esotericism

Around the year 1357, a wandering dervish’s recitation of these verses fell upon the ears of a young man of about seventeen sitting in a religious college in Astarabad, Iran. Already given to religious pursuits, Fazlallah Astarabadi was exceedingly affected by the great mystical poet’s message of parity between divinity and humanity and sought an explanation for the verse from his teacher in religious sciences. The latter replied that it reflected a sentiment produced from acquiring the goals of mystical exercises. As such, its meaning was beyond ordinary words and could be understood only by pursuing extreme piety and appropriate knowledge. Over the course of the following year, Fazlallah systematically decreased his interaction with the material world by withdrawing from social contact, fasting constantly, and spending all his time in prayer. By the end of the year, he was overtaken completely by mystical desire which led him to renounce all his belongings as well as family connections and don the coarse felt garment (namad) of a wandering mendicant in preparation for a journey to Mecca on foot to perform the hajj. In due course, he became renowned among both elites and popular classes for his knowledge and mystical aptitude, and the strength of his influence and the general tenor of his teachings roused apprehension in the conqueror Timur (d. 1405). Condemned to death on grounds of heresy, he was imprisoned briefly and then allegedly beheaded personally by Timur’s son Miranshah (d. 1408) in 1394. His movement, termed ‘Hurufiyya’ by this time due to Fazlallah’s apparent emphasis on the letters of the Arabo-Persian alphabet (huruf), was inherited by a number of talented disciples and continued to be a substantial presence on the religious scene (with occasional political involvement) over the next century....