Fazlallah Astarabadi was the founder of the Hurufi movement. Hurufism (Arabic حروفية hurufiyya, adjective form hurufi) is a mystical esoteric Sufi sect, that was active in areas of western Persia, Turkey and Azerbaijan in later 14th - early 15th century. ...

Ealy Life

Fazlallah was born in Astarabad, Iran, in 1340, the son of the head judge in that town. He was a descendant of Mohammad, as were many inhabitants of Astarabadi. His family was from the Sahfi'i school of Sunni Islam - however this did not figure greatly in his religious development. Golestan is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ... Events Europe has about 74 million inhabitants. ... For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... Imam Al-Baihaqi was born 384 AH in the small town of Khusraugird near Bayhaq in Khurasan [1]. During his lifetime, he became a famous hadith scholar. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

When his father died when he was still a child, Fazlallah inherited his position and appeared at the courthouse on horse back everyday, acting as a figurehead while his assistants carried out the work of the court. At the age of eighteen he had an extraordinary religious experience when a nomadic dervish recited a verse by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī[2] (Persian: ‎ , Turkish: Mevlânâ Celâleddin Mehmed Rumi) , also known as Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (Persian: ‎ ), but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, (1207 — 1273 CE) was a 13th century Persian...

Why are you afraid of death when you have the essence of eternity?

How can the grave contain you when you have the light of God?

Fazlallah fell into a trance and when he enquired as to the verses meaning his relgious teacher told him that to understand it one would have to devote their life to religious pursuits and then one could experience the meaning rather than knowing it intellectually. After a yer of trying to maintain his duties as a judge during the day while engaged in solitary prayer in a graveyard at night, he abandonned his family, possessions and security to become an itinerant relgious seeker. As he left Astarabadi, he exchamhged his clothes for the felt clothing of a shepherd he met. From then on he always wore this shirt as a symbol of having abandonned worldly connections and comforts.

Sahib-i ta'vil: the Master of Esoteric Interpretation

Fazlallah made his way to Isfahan in central Iran. Unused to walking, he suffered a leg injury by the time he arrived. Here he found a variety of relgious seekers many of whom shunned contacts with wider society and often flouted religious convention. However Fazlallah never joined any of these groups, However he began to experience a series of dreams which he came to regard as prophetic. He then made Hajj the islamic pilgrimage to Mecca before moving to Kunya Urgench, the capital of Khwarazm. He decided to make another Hajj, but only got as far as Luristan when he had dream in which a man told him to go to Mashhad. Concluding the man was Ali al-Rida (d. 818) - who is buried in Marshhhad - he made a detour to al-Riza's shrimne their before completeing a second Hajj and returning to Urgench. Here he practised sufi religious practices and continued to have a number of dreams. In one Jesus told him that four sufis - Ibrahim Bin Adham, Bayazid Bistami, Al-Tustari and Bahlul were the most sincere religious seekers in the history of Islam. In another dream Muhammad appeared to him and explaining to an old man that dream interpretation was very hard as the surface identities of charactersin dreams were stand-ins for others and that dreams involved far deeper meanings than their apparent concern. Then Muhammad turned to Fazlallah and said that true dream interpretation was like a rare star that becomes visible every 30,000 yers and encompasses seven thousand worlds. He told Fazlallah that he could see it if he stood under an orange tree, This Fazlallah did and saw seven stars one of which was bigger than the rest. and the luminous star emitted a ray of light which enetered his right eye conveying a special intuitive knowledge to him. This fealt like a pearly light which enabled him to understand the hadith. After this dream Fazlallah claimed he could understand dreams and the language of birds. His followers called him sahib-i ta'vil - the master of esoteric interpretation following this. He rapidly attracted a crowd of people seeking explanations of dreams drawn from all walks of life. However he preferred the company of religious aescetics and eventually decided to leave Urgench. Isfahan or Esfahān can refer to either a city or a province in Iran (Persia): Isfahan (city) Isfahan (province) Isfahan (rugs) Isfahan is the name of a song by the Jazzist Duke Ellington Ispahan a kind of rose and an older pronunciation of the citys name. ... Prophecy in a broad sense, is the prediction of future events or the speaking of divine words (divine Revelation) through chosen human messengers (prophets). ... Traditionally, pilgrims travel to Mecca in groups with their friends or family, or people from their local mosque as an expression of unity. ... Pilgrim at Mecca In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... Ruins of Muhammad IIs palace in Old Urgench. ... Khiva (alternative names include Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chiwa and Chorezm) is a city in present day Uzbekistan, in the Province of Khorezm. ... Traditionally, pilgrims travel to Mecca in groups with their friends or family, or people from their local mosque as an expression of unity. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Mashhad (also spelt Mashad,Persian: ‎ , literally the place of martyrdom ) is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia world. ... Imām ˤAlÄ« ibn-MÅ«sā ar-Riđā (Arabic: علي بن موسى الرضا) (January 1, 766 - May 26, 818) was the eighth Shīˤa Imām. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Ibrahim Bin Adham (ابراہیم بن ادھم) was popularly known as Abu Ben Adhem or Abou Ben Adhem in the West due to a famous poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt. ... The Bastami Complex in Bastam, Semnan Province of Iran, contains the shrine of Mohammad ibn Jafar Sadiq, the tomb of Bayazid, his monastery, the Iwan of Öljeitü, the tomb of Mahmud Ghazan, the Congregation Mosque, the tower of Kashaneh, and the Shahrukhiya seminary, bath, and Zurkhaneh, dating from before the... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Amongst the Sarbadars

Fazlallah then moved to the region of Sabzavar in North east iran, where a significant proportion of the local population were involved in apacyptical religion. Fron 1136 to [[1381 this region was under the rule of the Sarbadars, a divrese collection of noble afmilies who did not follow a dynastic principle, with many people affiliated to a religoius group known as the Shaykiyya, This sect advised its followers to prepare arms ready for a great cosmic war that would be followed by the appearance of the Messiah. there is some evidence that he was here in 1360 and that he amde the prediction that 'Ali Mu'ayyad would expel the Shaykiyya, but that the latter would return within a year. Fifteen years later Darvish Rukn al-Din was expelled, only to return in triumph within the year. There are a number of stories relating to Fazlallah in this region, but he was to leave in 1365 travelling first to Yazd and then onto Isfahan The Sarbadars (from sarbadar, head on gallows; also known as Sarbadalan) were a mixture of religious dervishes and secular rulers that came to rule over part of western Khurasan in the midst of the disintegration of the Mongol Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century. ... Look up Apocalypse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Events Completion of the Saint Denis Basilica in Paris Peter Abelard writes the Historia Calamitatum, detailing his relationship with Heloise People of Novgorod rebel against the hereditary prince Vsevolod and depose him Births Amalric I of Jerusalem William of Newburgh, English historian (died 1198) Deaths November 15 - Margrave Leopold III... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ Standard Hebrew Arabic: Al-Masih, المسيح), Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... Events October 24 - The Treaty of Brétigny is ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years War. ... Events Foundation of the University of Vienna Births John de Ros, 6th Baron de Ros (died 1394) Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk (died 1399) Deaths May 17 - Louis VI the Roman, elector of Brandenburg (born 1328) July 27 - Duke Rudolf IV of Austria (born 1339) Categories: 1365 ... Yazd or Yezd (In Persian: یزد), is the capital of Yazd province, one of the most ancient and historic cities in Iran and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. ... Isfahan or Esfahān can refer to either a city or a province in Iran (Persia): Isfahan (city) Isfahan (province) Isfahan (rugs) Isfahan is the name of a song by the Jazzist Duke Ellington Ispahan a kind of rose and an older pronunciation of the citys name. ...

Sojourn in Isfahan

Fazlallah made himself at home ina mosque in the suburb of Tuqchi where he attracted two kinds of visitors: firstly religous seekers seekinga guide and secondly those who wanted him to interpret dreams for more wordly reasons. Fazlallah would accept no money for his interpretations and led an aescetic life, going without lseep spending the night in prayer and weeping continually to control his carnal desires. Th Sufi Mu'in al-Din Shahrastani visited him and asked him about his undertsanding of a true man of god. he replied quoting Junayd Bhagdadi that it is someone who is silent on the outside so that his inner reality can speak through him. Shahrastani became one of his prominent followers alongside men like Nasrallah Nafaji whose Khwabnama (the Book of Dreams) became one of the main biographical sources about Fazlallah's life. These followers formed a tight-nit community around him sharing a hermit like lifestyleand a deep brotherly love which led them to think of themselves as sharing the same soul. These sincere followers claimed the received Karamat, spirtitual gifts like special knowledge about sacred texts like the Bible and the Koran, an undertsandinmg of hidden matters and clear interpretations of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad and his immediate entourage. meanwhile a steady stream of the social elite, such as scholars, ministers military and administrative officers as well as all kinds of wealthy people would ask his advice. Giving advice to such people as Mawlana Zayn al-Din Rajayi and the Amir Farrukh Gunbadi]] Fazlallah' reputation spread throughout the provinces of Khurasan, Azerbaijan and Shirvan. Eventually he decided to move to Tabriz. The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Khorasan (also spelled Khurasan and Khorassan; خراسان in Persian) is an area, located in eastern and northeastern Iran. ... Shervan or Shirvan was a former Persian province in Caucasus, a state ruled by the Shervanshahs and the birthplace of the Persian poet Khaqani. ... Tabriz City Hall, built in 1934, by Arfaol molk, with the aid of German engineers. ...

External Links

Sufi Tale: The Lover of the ABC

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