#ahl-e haqq

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Yarsanismo: la fe kurda que canta sus secretos sagrados Descubre el yarsanismo, la enigmática fe kurda que preserva sus himnos sagrados, el tanbur y una tradición oral transmitida durante siglos.... https://revistaliterariaelcandelabro.blog/2026/07/yarsanismo-himnos-sagrados-tradicion-oral-zagros/

Yarsanismo: la fe kurda que canta sus secretos sagrados

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Yarsanis from Kirmanshan

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Yarsani Religion | History, beliefs, rituals, holy book &More

Yarsani Religion | History, beliefs, rituals, holy book &More

What is the yarsani religion? The Yarsani Religion, Ahle Haqq or Kaka’i (Kurdish: یارسان‎, Yarsan, Persian: أهل حق‎; “People of Truth”), is a syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of Yarsanis is estimated at around 2,000,000 or 3,000,000. They are primarily found in western Iran and eastern Iraq and are mostly ethnic Goran Kurds,…

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The Ahl-e Haqq religion also known as the Kakais, a group that lives in the Kurdish regions: http://www.ahle-haqq.com/beliefs.html

(From the website) Different Stages of Spiritual Advancement

According to A.H. beliefs there are four distinct stages in religious education and advancement. The first is called Shari’at (The holy writ, in which the religious laws and rituals are defined). This stage is considered the exoteric aspect of religion and embodies the outer actions of human beings. After completion of this stage one arrives at the second stage called Tariqat (the Path). The third stage is called Marefat (gnosis, knowledge of spiritual realities). The fourth and final stage is called Haqiqat (The Ultimate Truth). The last three stages combined form the esoteric aspect of religion encompassing not only the outward actions but also the inward thoughts and intentions. The followers of A.H. believe that previous men of God have defined all stages of religion except Haqiqat and Soltan Sohak has taken upon himself to lay down the principles of this final and ultimate stage. According to A.H. successful completion of this stage is the ultimate prerequisite of a human being to reach permanent proximity of the Creator.

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Ahl-i-Haqq

The religion of the Ahl-i-Haqq ("Devotees of Truth") is also closely associated with Kurdistan. It first emerged among the Guran of southern Kurdistan or in neighbouring Luristan, and its most sacred writings are all in the Gurani language.

Unlike the Yezidi religion, however, it spread from Kurdistan to neighbouring areas and found followers among the Lur, the Azerbaijani Turks, the Persians in Iran and the Turcomans in Iraq. The French philosopher, the Comte de Gobineau, who spent several years in Iran in the mid-nineteenth century, was the first westerner to write extensively on this religion, which he considered as "the most important religion of Persia, be it for its dogmas, for the number of its adherents, or for their quality."

Among the Kurds the Ahl-i-Haqq religion has at present followers in four distinct areas. The most important of these is the region west of Kirmanshah near the Iraqi border. This is where the Guran live now and where we also find the major shrines of the Ahl-i-Haqq. A second zone of concentration is the Sahne district between Kirmanshah and Hamadan. Many of the Lur who live to the south of these two Kurdish Ahl-i-Haqq areas are also followers of this religion, and it is quite possible that in the past a significant portion of the inhabitants of the entire region were Ahl-i-Haqq. The third area consists of a string of Kurdish and Turcoman villages south of Kirkuk in Iraq, where the religion and its followers are called Kaka'i. The fourth consists of a cluster of villages near Mosul; this community goes by the name of Sarli. I do not dare to make an estimate as to the number of Ahl-i-Haqq among the Kurds. In the Guran district west of Kirmanshah, which I know best, they number in the tens of thousands. A recent study estimates the total number of all Ahl-i-Haqq at half a million, but most of these are not Kurds.

The Ahl-i-Haqq believe that God and six or seven archangels, who represent various aspects of God's essence, have manifested themselves several times in the world in human form. One of these human incarnations of God himself was, according to their belief, Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The belief in Ali's divine nature is shared by a number of other Middle Eastern sects of extremist Shiite (ghulat) origin, such as the Nusayris (Alawis) in Syria and the Qizilbash (Alevis) in Turkey. Their more orthodox neighbours often lump these sects together under the nickname "Ali-Ilahis." To the Ahl-iHaqq, however God's most important incarnation was not Ali but Sultan Sahak, the reputed founder of their sect. The Ahl-i Haqq also attach more importance than other ghulat sects to the archangels accompanying the deity in all his manifestations, known together as the Haft Tan, the Seven Persons. This resembles the Yezidi belief in seven angels who were incarnate in seven saints; and it is of course reminiscent of the seven "Bounteous Immortals" (amesha spenta), angelic beings who play a similar part in Zoroastrian doctrine. Like the Yezidis too, the Ahl-i-Haqq believe in reincarnation of the ordinary human soul. Religious leadership is hereditary and exercised by a number of sayyid families descending from Ahl-i-Haqq saints, but there is not such an elaborate caste system as among the Yezidis. 

Both sects emerged in a Muslim environment, as is  clear from the names of their saints and religious leaders as well as from many of the terms in which their religious ideas are formulated. The Ahl-i-Haqq, however, appear to belong to the extremist Shia, whereas the Yezidis may originally have been an extremist anti-Shia Muslim sect.

Their similarities are due to the pre-Islamic background that the share. Some of the Ahl-i-Haqq stress, like the Yezidis again, that they are not Muslims but a separate religion, while others (among the Kurds mainly those of the Sahne district) prefer to present themselves as an esoteric sect within orthodox Shiism. 

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Ahl-e Haqq Beliefs

According to A.H. beliefs there are four distinct stages in religious education and advancement. The first is called Shari’at (The holy writ, in which the religious laws and rituals are defined). This stage is considered the exoteric aspect of religion and embodies the outer actions of human beings. After completion of this stage one arrives at the second stage called Tariqat (the Path). The third stage is called Marefat (gnosis, knowledge of spiritual realities). The fourth and final stage is called Haqiqat (The ultimate Truth). The last three stages combined form the esoteric aspect of religion encompassing not only the outward actions but also the inward thoughts and intentions. The followers of A.H. believe that previous men of God have defined all stages of religion except Haqiqat and Soltan Sohak has taken upon himself to lay down the principles of this final and ultimate stage. According to A.H. successful completion of this stage is the ultimate prerequisite of a human being to reach permanent proximity of the Creator.

The title of the Order, Ahl-e Haq, “meaning people of the truth” implies that they consider themselves to have already passed the previous stages and are now at the final stage. As such they have been made to believe that they are no longer required to observe some of the rules of Shari’at.

Manifestation of God in human form

Based on one of the basic beliefs of A.H. God has appeared in human form at different times since the beginning of creation. This concept is called (mazhariat). In fact they are of the opinion that the creation itself occurred during the first of such manifestations called Khavandgar, the Creator. They further believe that Soltan Sohak was one such manifestation whose main contribution was the establishment of the Ultimate Truth (Haqiqat) , the final stage of religious advancement.

Spiritual Perfection and metempsychosis

Based on A.H. beliefs the ultimate goal of each human being is to reach God’s proximity. It is obvious, however, that such a tremendous task can not be accomplished in just one lifetime. In His mercy, therefore, God has allotted each soul one thousand lives to achieve the ultimate goal. In His justice, however, this limit is the same for all souls and can not be extended, although it is possible, and certainly beneficial, to reach the task in less than a thousand lives.

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Ahl-e Haqq

Ahl-e Haqq (hereafter referred to as A.H.) is an oriental esoteric order that has attracted an immense number of followers over the centuries and has spread over a vast geographical area. In western provinces of Iran, (Kurdistan, Kermanshah and Azarbayejan) as well as Turkey and Iraq alone the adherents are estimated at around three million. In many towns and communities A.H. forms majority of the population. In recent decades the scope of the followers has expanded beyond the traditional boundaries and has reached many other countries.

There are different speculations about the origin of Ahl-e Haqq. Some even claiming that it goes back to the beginning of creation. Most of the scholars who have written on the subject, however, believe that Soltan Sohak established the Order at the beginning of the sixteenth century. There are many legendary stories about the birth and life of Soltan Sohak which are believed to be true by A.H. in spite of their mysterious nature.

It should be noted, however, that most of the information regarding A.H. formation, development, and expansion as well as its dogma and traditions have been preserved and transmitted orally in form of Kalam (words) from one generation to another. It is natural, therefore, that the historical chronology and coherence has been somehow distorted but the mystical tone and flavor remains in tact to a large extent. Such Kalams were available only to the order’s elite who would recite them from memory to the followers during the ceremonies and gatherings. Kalams were not put in writing for many centuries and were never made available to the “outsides”. Minorsky seems to have found a manuscript dated 1843. Afterwards, however, more collections of Kalams found their way to the hands of the adepts and “outsiders”. Although there are many Kalams relating to different periods of A.H. history, yet the most sacred of all is considered to be Kalam-e Saranjam belonging to the period of Soltan sohak.