Yarsanism

Yarsanism. The followers can be known as Alh-i Haqq, ‘the People of Truth’, but it is thought that this is just a mistake from the name Ahl-i Haq, meaning ‘the People of the Spirit’. This branch of Yazdanism was founded by Sultan Sahak.

Without a holy scripture as such, Yarsans have Kalam, sayings, and Deftur, traditions, to aid them in their faith. The most important Kalam is Saranjam, meaning ‘Conclusions’. In Saranjam are the sayings of Yarsan saints, other important figures and of their founder Sultan Sahak.

   Taking a brief deviation, the Angels are believed to incarnate, and these individuals are known as mazhariyyat. Sultan Sahak’s mother was believed to be a mazhariyyat. She is also thought of as the incarnation of the leader, and the only female, Angel.

There are four qualities that a Yarsan will strive for, and these are purity, abnegation, rectitude and effacement. With these qualities, they believe that they will achieve salvation, which is completely in the control of the individual.

   It is further believed that an individual has five thousand years and one thousand and one reincarnations to reach salvation. If they are so bad that they become an animal, or if they die before they reach forty days old, then that reincarnation wouldn’t count.

   As each death is a step to salvation, Yarsans hardly mourn the dead. Also, humans are only aware of the external world during life, but during death they are aware of the internal. The internal world is inhabited by the Angels and Haq, so this too stops the mourning of death because death brings contact with the divine.

Next time will come Yazidism, where my journey started, and after that the pilgrimage of the Yazidis.