Fazlallāh Astarābādī

Fazlallāh Astarābādī ( Persian فضل الله شهاب الدين بن بهاء الدين (ابى محمد) استرآبادى, DMG Fażlallāh Šihāb ad-Dīn ibn Bahāʾ ad-Dīn (or: ibn Abī Muḥammad) Astarābādī ; * 1339 / 40 in Astarabad ; †  1394 near Naxçıvan ) was the founder of the mystical Hurūfīya movement. He is also known under the names Fazlallāh Hurūfī , Fazlallāh Tabrīzī and his Tachallus Naʿīmī , which he used for a small collection of poems.

Medieval scholars assume that Fazlallāh came to Tabriz around 1386 to discover his teaching . He founded his center for the Hurufism movement in Baku .

His most famous works are the Jawidannama ("Book of Eternity") , also known as Jawidan-e kabir ("Great Eternity") , the Wasiyyatnama ("Testament") , the Mahabbatnama ("Book of Love") and the Iskandarnama (" Alexander Book ") . The doctrine of Hurufism is a variant of Sufism that, similar to the Jewish Kabbalah , seeks religious knowledge and redemption through the interpretation of the alphabet and the study of the numerical value of the letters of sacred texts.

Fazlallāh spread his teaching so intensely and successfully that it soon became very popular not only in Azerbaijan but throughout the Orient. He even tried to make the ruler Timur his follower, but was arrested and executed in 1394 in the castle of Alindja near Naxçıvan. He was also buried here (presumably in the small Alindja Chanegah mausoleum ). His students, especially Imad ad-Din Nasimi , successfully spread his teaching.

With the spread of Hurufism in Anatolia, many elements of this teaching can be found among the Alevis . In today's Albania the teachings of Fazlallāh are still taught in some Bektashi villages.

Web links

• H. Algar : ASTARĀBĀDĪ, FAŻLALLĀH - Encyclopædia Iranica