Hurufism

Hurufism (from the word huruf - letters) – is a Sufi sect, common in the late XIV - early XV centuries in Azerbaijan, Anatolia and western Iran. Hurufism (from the word huruf - letters) is the doctrine claiming that the Koran is to be interpreted through a system of letters. For the Hurufis 7 is considered a sacred number. 

The person that formed Hurufism as philosophical and religious systems through the development of ideas about the technical structure of the figureswas Azerbaijani Turk Shahabaddin Feyzulla Astrabad Naimi (1339 - 40 / 1394 ), who in 1386 announced his teachings in Tabriz with subsequent dissemination of his ideas in Isfahan . Feyzulla Naimi, who had long been leading an ascetic way of life in a cave, declared himself a prophet, Mehdi, and the most devoted disciples began to propagate his teachings. In a short time people from different backgrounds joined the new doctrine. 

After long wanderings in Anatolia, Imameddin Nasimi managed to attract a large number of Hurufism followers. 

In Hurufism the analysis and interpretation of the Koran lies on the figures. Despite its being a Shiite tend, it has managed to find supporters among Shiites, Sunnis from its onset and so, exerting influence on literature and other teaching through tasavvur. 

According to Hurufism, the universe is eternal and different periods replace one another.  

Hurufism began to spread as an ideological trend in a more organized form at the end of the XIV century. Their religious ideas of Philosophy proceeded from the philosophy of the Middle East. Finding companions such as Naimi, Nasimi Sururi, Ali al-Ala in Azerbaijan, Hurufism did not suffer geographical limitations. The area of Hurufism distribution covered a large area (Iran , Azerbaijan, Surya, Ottoman Turkey). The main mass of hurufists was peasants and the urban aristocrats.  

Hurufists did not confine on their own territory in spreading their ideas: they traveled to various countries and the Muslim East, attracting many people to their ranks. 

The historical need in the origin of Hurufism was dictated by the Mongolian yoke that had been prevailing in the East for two hundred years. During this period unrests and joins were directed against the local feudal lords and orthodox Islam. 

Hurufism is the idea of expressing the people\'s interests, typical for cities of the Middle East. 

The basis of hurufist philosophy lies in the mystical pantheism. According to Hurufism, the mystery of the Universe and creation is in mystical figures. Hurufists believed that the man himself was Allah or people were strands of God’s body. Only a perfect man (a strand of God’s body) will be able to re-merge with God. This happens when a person reaches the peak of his development. The first elements of Hurufism occur during the formation of philosophy. 

According to Feyzulla, Allah is the secret treasure. Indeed, the existence and the soul of everything are the sounds. The first manifestation of God is the sounds as utterances. Clarity of a sound is a saying i.e. the word. The uterance is manifested in the man and in the sound. It acquires some forms as a group of elements. Hurufits announced the 28 letters of the Arabic, and 32 letters of the Persian alphabet as the foundation of all things, saw the manifestation of the divine appearance in these letters, looking for combinations of these letters, even in the human’s face features. 

According to the teachings, the Universe is full of sounds, and the word is perfect form of the sounds 

Hurufism was one of the famous scientific currents that had an impact on all the subsequent teachings in Azerbaijan and in the East as a whole. 

During this period, the most beautiful examples of embodiment of Sufi poetry and perpatetism were created by Muhammad Fuzuli, who was acquainted well with the Greek and Eastern philosophy. His philosophical views were reflected in his work Matlaul-etigad in which the poet mentions the Western philosophers Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Empedocles, Democritus, Pythagoras, as well as Eastern philosophers Farabi Nazzama, Ibn Sina, N. Tusi and others. Literary philosophical views of Fizuli are also met in his writings. 

According to Fuzuli agreement with the Mutakallims’ views does not prevent from the recognition of absolute being. Thus, he considered mandatory and permissible being in the Peripatetic philosophy not as the primary cause. Speaking of the ten theories of the mind, thinker Fizuli pointed out that ten of these theories were governed the heavens, and one governs the human listing the extent of the human mind.