The Haft Tan: The Seven Holy Beings of the Yarsani Faith
- Dala Sarkis
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
Introduction
The Haft Tan, 'the Seven Persons', are the seven holy beings at the heart of the Yarsani (Ahl-e Haqq) faith. Divine beings who took human form, they are the sacred companions of Sultan Sahak, the founder of Yarsanism, and together they form the angelic hierarchy through which, Yarsanis believe, God governs the world.
More than a circle of saints, the Haft Tan are woven into the very creation of the world and into the unfolding of sacred history. To understand them is to understand the Yarsani vision of a God who acts through seven beloved beings, returning with them, age after age, into the world.
Contents
What Are the Haft Tan?
The Haft Tan, meaning 'the Seven Persons' or 'Seven Bodies', are the seven divine beings of Yarsanism. Created by God at the beginning of the world and entrusted with its care, they incarnate in human form in each great age of sacred history. In the present age they appear as Sultan Sahak and his six companions, and they are honoured as the holy core of the faith.
Key Takeaways
The Haft Tan ('the Seven Persons') are the seven holy beings of the Yarsani faith.
They are divine beings, created by God and given charge of the world.
In the present age they are Sultan Sahak and his six sacred companions.
The only female among them is Khatun-e Razbar, the mother of Sultan Sahak.
They are often identified with archangels and recur in every great epoch of sacred history.
Quick Facts
Name: Haft Tan ('the Seven Persons' / 'Seven Bodies')
Tradition: Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq / Kaka'i)
What they are: Seven divine beings, the sacred companions of Sultan Sahak and the angelic hierarchy of the faith
Origin: Created by God after the primordial Pearl, and given control of the world
Leader: Sultan Sahak, the manifestation of the Divine Essence
The only female: Khatun-e Razbar, the mother of Sultan Sahak
Other members: Pir Benjamin, Pir Musi, Mustafa Dawan, Baba Yadgar and Dawud
Often identified with: The archangels Gabriel, Michael and Azrael, among others
Recurrence: They return in every great epoch (dowre) through new incarnations
Attestation: Central to the Yarsani creation myth and the Kalam-e Saranjam (Oral to Written)
The Seven in Creation
In the Yarsani account of creation, God first brought forth a Pearl that held the whole world within it in embryonic form. He then created the Seven Beings, the Haft Tan, and left to them the governance of creation. God and the Seven gathered in the first jam, the first sacred assembly; a sacrifice was made, the Pearl burst open, and from it the world came into being.
This places the Haft Tan at the very foundation of existence. The striking image of the world emerging from a primordial Pearl closely echoes the Yazidi creation myth, one of many deep kinships between the two Kurdish faiths, and it sets the Seven not as latecomers to the world but as its first guardians, present before humanity itself.
The Members of the Haft Tan
In the current age, the Haft Tan are led by Sultan Sahak, honoured as the manifestation of the Divine Essence itself. Around him stand six companions, each a holy being in their own right and each, in tradition, identified with a great angel. They are most often given as:
Sultan Sahak: the manifestation of the Divine Essence and leader of the Seven
Pir Benjamin: the spiritual guide, or Pir, of all Yarsanis, identified with the archangel Gabriel
Pir Musi: the recording angel who first wrote down the sacred poems, identified with the archangel Michael
Mustafa Dawan: identified with the archangel Azrael, the angel of death and transformation
Baba Yadgar: a beloved holy figure of divine memory, honoured at his mountain shrine
Khatun-e Razbar: the only woman among the Seven, the mother of Sultan Sahak
Dawud: known in Kurdish as the Dalil, the guide, and linked with sacred music
Among them, Khatun-e Razbar holds a special place as the one female being of the Seven and the mother of Sultan Sahak, while Baba Yadgar is beloved as the holy figure whose mountain shrine remains a great place of pilgrimage. The exact names and roles can vary from region to region, as befits a faith carried for centuries in oral tradition.
The Seven Across the Epochs
The Haft Tan are not bound to a single moment. Yarsani belief divides sacred history into great epochs, or dowre, and holds that in each, the divine Leader and the other members of the Seven return, taking on new human forms. The same divine essences appear and reappear, guiding humanity age after age.
Earlier epochs are associated with figures such as Shah Khoshin, and the present age is held to have begun with the coming of Sultan Sahak in the mountains of Hawraman. In this way the Haft Tan bind the whole sweep of sacred history together: the same Seven beneath ever-changing faces.
Angels, Elements and Days
The Seven are richly connected to the order of the cosmos. Several are identified with the archangels of the Abrahamic world, Gabriel, Michael and Azrael among them, and each is traditionally associated with a day of the week. Some accounts also link members of the Seven with the four elements and the four seasons, so that the making of the world and of humankind is shared among them: earth and water, wind and fire, spring and summer, autumn and winter.
These correspondences vary from one tradition to another and belong to the esoteric, inner knowledge of the faith. What they share is a vision of the Seven as the powers through which the divine orders time, nature and the human world.
Parallels with Yazidism and Zoroastrianism
The Haft Tan have an unmistakable kinship with the Seven Angels of Yazidism, the heptad created from God's light, and with the seven Amesha Spentas, the 'Beneficent Immortals' of Zoroastrianism. All three traditions place seven holy beings at the centre of the cosmos as the channels of a single God.
These parallels point to a shared ancient Iranian heritage underlying the Kurdish religions. Yet the Haft Tan are distinctly Yarsani: their names, their incarnations and their place in the Kalam-e Saranjam belong to this faith alone, and the resemblances should be seen as kinship, not sameness.
Symbolism
The number seven, here as in so many traditions, speaks of wholeness and cosmic order. In the Haft Tan, the one God becomes seven in order to create, govern and guide, while remaining one. They are the bridge between a hidden God and the visible world.
They also express the deep Yarsani conviction that the holy is not far away but recurring and near: the same divine beings who shaped the world return into it, age after age, as friends and guides. To be Yarsani, a 'friend of God', is to live in the company of the Seven.
Debates and Misconceptions
Are the names of the Seven fixed? Not entirely. Because Yarsani tradition is largely oral and varies by region, the names, roles and even the membership of the Haft Tan can differ between communities and sources. The constant is the structure: seven divine beings, led by the manifestation of the Divine Essence.
Are the Haft Tan the same as the Yazidi Seven Angels? They are strikingly parallel, and both descend from a shared religious world, but they are not identical. The Haft Tan have their own names, their own scripture and their own place in Yarsani belief, and the two heptads belong to two distinct, if kindred, faiths.
Related Topics
Sultan Sahak: the leader of the Haft Tan and founder of Yarsanism
Baba Yadgar: one of the Seven and a great Yarsani shrine
The Seven Angels of Yazidism: the kindred Yazidi heptad
The Yazidi creation myth: the parallel Kurdish pearl cosmogony
Khatun-e Razbar: the only female being of the Seven
The Kalam-e Saranjam: the Yarsani scripture that preserves their story
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Haft Tan?
The Haft Tan, 'the Seven Persons', are the seven holy beings of the Yarsani (Ahl-e Haqq) faith: divine beings created by God to govern the world, who incarnate in human form in each age. In the present age they are Sultan Sahak and his six companions.
Who are the seven members?
In the current age they are usually given as Sultan Sahak, Pir Benjamin, Pir Musi, Mustafa Dawan, Baba Yadgar, Khatun-e Razbar and Dawud, though names and roles vary by region.
Who is the only woman among the Haft Tan?
Khatun-e Razbar, who is also revered as the mother of Sultan Sahak. She is the single female being among the Seven.
How do the Haft Tan relate to creation?
In the Yarsani creation myth, God created the Haft Tan after the primordial Pearl and left them in charge of the world. When God and the Seven gathered and a sacrifice was made, the Pearl burst and the world was created.
Are the Haft Tan the same as the Yazidi Seven Angels?
They are closely parallel and share an ancient heritage, but they are distinct. Each belongs to its own faith, with its own names and scriptures; the resemblance is kinship, not identity.
References and Further Reading
Comments