Pir Benyamin: The Guide of the Yarsani Haftan
- Sherko Sabir
- 22 hours ago
- 12 min read
Introduction
Pir Benyamin is one of the most revered figures of the Yarsani faith: the foremost of the Haftan, the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak, the spiritual guide and Pir of the highest rank among the Ahl-e Haqq, charged with guidance and redemption.
Yarsanism, also called Ahl-e Haqq, is a distinct religious tradition of the Kurdish people, founded in its present form by Sultan Sahak in the fourteenth century in the Hawraman region. At the heart of the faith stand the Haftan, the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak, who are understood as holy beings made manifest in the world; and foremost among them is Pir Benyamin, the great guide, honoured as the Pir of highest rank, the one charged with the guidance and redemption of the faithful.
As a living religion of the Kurdish people, Yarsanism deserves to be understood accurately and with respect, on its own terms. Pir Benyamin is among its most beloved and revered figures, the foremost of the Seven, the great spiritual guide of the tradition. To know Pir Benyamin is to understand something of the heart of the Yarsani faith and its vision of holy guides and companions of the divine.
Contents
Who Is Pir Benyamin?
Pir Benyamin is the foremost of the Haftan, the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak, and the great spiritual guide of the Yarsani or Ahl-e Haqq faith, honoured as the Pir of the highest rank, charged with the guidance and redemption of the faithful. In the Yarsani tradition, Pir Benyamin is one of the Seven, the holy companions who accompany the manifestation of the divine, and he holds the foremost place among them, the great guide and Pir. He is honoured as a holy being of the highest rank, comparable in the tradition to the foremost of the angels, the one responsible for guidance, the showing of the right way, and the redemption of souls. According to the tradition, Pir Benyamin was born in the thirteenth century near Mount Shahu, in the Hawraman region of the Kurdish lands, and was received by Sultan Sahak in the village of Sheikhan, becoming one of his foremost companions in the cycle, or holy period, of Sultan Sahak. As the foremost of the Seven and the great spiritual guide, Pir Benyamin holds a central and beloved place in the Yarsani faith, the Pir of highest rank, the holy guide of guidance and redemption.
The Haftan: The Seven Companions
To understand Pir Benyamin, one must understand the Haftan, the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak, who stand at the heart of the Yarsani vision of the divine and its holy companions.
In the Yarsani faith, the divine is understood to be made manifest in the world in a series of holy manifestations or cycles, the greatest being that of Sultan Sahak, the central manifestation who renewed and ordered the faith in the fourteenth century. Each manifestation of the divine is accompanied by holy companions, and chief among these are the Haftan, the Seven, the foremost holy companions who accompany the divine manifestation and who are themselves understood as holy beings. The Haftan are at the heart of the Yarsani vision, the Seven holy companions through whom, with the divine manifestation, the faith is ordered and the faithful are guided. Among the Seven companions of Sultan Sahak, the most often named and revered are Pir Benyamin, Dawud, and Pir Musi, the holy companions who appear again and again in the sacred poetry of the faith. The Haftan, the Seven, are thus the holy companions of the divine, and Pir Benyamin is the foremost among them, the great guide and Pir. This vision of the Seven holy companions is one of the most distinctive features of the Yarsani faith, and Pir Benyamin, as the foremost of the Seven, holds the central place among these holy companions of the divine.
Key Takeaways
Pir Benyamin is the foremost of the Haftan, the Seven companions of Sultan Sahak.
He is the great spiritual guide and Pir of highest rank in the Yarsani faith.
He is charged with guidance, the right way, and the redemption of souls.
He was born in the 13th century near Mount Shahu in Hawraman.
He was received by Sultan Sahak at Sheikhan and became his foremost companion.
He is honoured throughout the sacred poetry (Kalam) of the faith.
Quick Facts
Name: Pir Benyamin (Pir Benjamin)
Faith: Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq), a Kurdish religion
Role: Foremost of the Haftan, the Seven holy companions
Rank: Pir of highest rank; the great spiritual guide
Responsible for: Guidance, the right way, and redemption
Born: 13th century, near Mount Shahu in Hawraman
Received by: Sultan Sahak, at the village of Sheikhan
Cycle: The manifestation (cycle) of Sultan Sahak
Sacred poetry: Honoured in the Kalam-e Saranjam (Gorani Kurdish)
Heritage: A living religious tradition of the Kurdish people
The Foremost of the Seven
Pir Benyamin holds the foremost place among the Haftan, the Seven holy companions, honoured as the Pir of the highest rank, the greatest of the holy companions of Sultan Sahak.
In the Yarsani tradition, while all the Haftan, the Seven holy companions, are revered as holy beings, Pir Benyamin is honoured as the foremost among them, the one who holds the highest rank and the place of greatest honour. He is the great Pir, the spiritual guide of the highest standing, comparable in the tradition to the foremost of the angels in other faiths. This foremost place among the Seven reflects his role as the great guide, the one charged with the highest responsibility of guidance and redemption, and his closeness to the divine manifestation. In the sacred poetry and the religious life of the faith, Pir Benyamin is named with the greatest reverence, the foremost of the Seven, the Pir of highest rank. This standing as the foremost of the Seven holy companions is one of the defining features of Pir Benyamin, marking him as the greatest of the holy companions and the chief spiritual guide of the Yarsani faith. It is as the foremost of the Seven that Pir Benyamin holds his central and beloved place in the tradition, the great Pir, the highest of the holy companions of the divine manifestation.
The Guide of Guidance and Redemption
The special role of Pir Benyamin is that of the great guide, the one charged with guidance, the showing of the right way, and the redemption of souls, the foremost responsibility among the holy companions.
In the Yarsani faith, Pir Benyamin is understood to be charged with the great work of guidance and redemption, the showing of the right way to the faithful and the leading of souls toward their salvation. This is the highest and most important of responsibilities, and it is fitting that it belongs to the foremost of the Seven, the great Pir and spiritual guide. The role of the Pir, the spiritual guide, is central to the Yarsani faith, in which each believer stands in a sacred relationship with a Pir who guides them on the spiritual path; and Pir Benyamin is the great Pir, the source and model of this guidance, the foremost spiritual guide of the whole tradition. His charge of guidance and redemption makes him a figure of the deepest importance and reverence, the holy guide through whom, in the Yarsani vision, the faithful are shown the right way and led toward redemption. This role as the guide of guidance and redemption is the heart of Pir Benyamin's significance, the great Pir charged with the highest spiritual responsibility, the showing of the right way and the redemption of souls. It is as the holy guide of guidance and redemption that Pir Benyamin is most beloved and revered in the Yarsani faith, the great spiritual guide of the tradition.
Pir Benyamin and Sultan Sahak
Pir Benyamin's place in the Yarsani faith is bound up with his relationship to Sultan Sahak, the great manifestation of the divine, whose foremost holy companion he became.
According to the tradition, Pir Benyamin, born near Mount Shahu in the Hawraman region, was received by Sultan Sahak in the village of Sheikhan and became one of his foremost holy companions, the foremost of the Haftan, the Seven who accompany the divine manifestation. The relationship between the divine manifestation and his holy companions is at the heart of the Yarsani vision, and Pir Benyamin, as the foremost companion of Sultan Sahak, holds a place of the greatest closeness to the central manifestation of the divine. Together with the other holy companions, such as Dawud and Pir Musi, Pir Benyamin accompanies and serves the divine manifestation, and through these holy companions the faith is ordered and the faithful are guided. The holy places associated with Sultan Sahak and his companions, in the Hawraman region and along the sacred river, are honoured in the tradition, and figures such as Baba Yadgar are also revered among the holy ones of the faith. Pir Benyamin's relationship to Sultan Sahak, as his foremost holy companion, is thus central to his significance, binding the great Pir to the central manifestation of the divine. It is as the foremost companion of Sultan Sahak that Pir Benyamin holds his place at the heart of the Yarsani faith.
Honoured in the Sacred Kalam
Pir Benyamin is honoured throughout the sacred poetry of the Yarsani faith, the Kalam, the divinely revealed verse in which the holy companions and the manifestations of the divine are celebrated and the sacred knowledge of the tradition preserved.
The traditions of the Yarsani faith are preserved in sacred poetry, known as the Kalam-e Saranjam, the holy verse of the tradition, composed and transmitted in the Gorani Kurdish tongue, the sacred language of the Ahl-e Haqq. These sacred poems, divinely revealed in the Yarsani understanding and passed down through the generations, celebrate the manifestations of the divine and their holy companions, and preserve the sacred knowledge, history, and teaching of the faith. Pir Benyamin, as the foremost of the Seven holy companions, is named and honoured throughout this sacred poetry, one of the most often celebrated of the holy companions of Sultan Sahak. The recitation of the sacred Kalam, often to the accompaniment of the sacred tanbur, the holy lute of the tradition, is at the heart of Yarsani religious life, and through it the memory and reverence of Pir Benyamin and the other holy companions are preserved and celebrated. This honouring in the sacred Kalam reflects the central place of Pir Benyamin in the Yarsani faith, the foremost of the Seven, celebrated in the holy poetry of the tradition. It is through the sacred Kalam that the reverence for Pir Benyamin is preserved and transmitted, the great Pir honoured in the divinely revealed verse of the Yarsani faith.
Symbolism and Meaning
Pir Benyamin embodies, above all, the Yarsani vision of holy guidance, the great Pir and spiritual guide charged with the showing of the right way and the redemption of souls. As the foremost of the Seven holy companions, he represents the ideal of the holy guide, the spiritual master through whom the faithful are led on the path.
Pir Benyamin embodies, too, the closeness of the holy companions to the divine manifestation, and the sacredness of the relationship between guide and follower that is at the heart of the Yarsani faith. In his being the foremost of the Seven, he expresses the high honour of the holy companions and the centrality of guidance in the tradition. In all this, Pir Benyamin is among the most revered and beloved figures of the Yarsani faith, embodying holy guidance, redemption, and the closeness of the holy companions to the divine. He is the great Pir, the foremost of the Haftan, the spiritual guide of the highest rank, one of the most distinctive and beloved figures of this living religious tradition of the Kurdish people, honoured alongside Sultan Sahak and the other holy companions in the sacred poetry of the faith. The vision of holy guidance that he embodies is among the most beautiful features of the Yarsani tradition.
Pir Benyamin in Kurdish Heritage
Pir Benyamin belongs to Yarsanism, the Ahl-e Haqq, one of the distinctive religious traditions of the Kurdish people, a living faith centred in the Hawraman and Guran regions of the Kurdish lands. As the foremost of the Seven holy companions, he holds a special place in the religious heritage of the Kurds.
Yarsanism is a faith followed by Kurds, chiefly in the Hawraman, Guran, and Kermanshah regions and among related communities, and it is one of the distinctive religious traditions of the Kurdish people, with its own sacred poetry, holy companions, and vision of the divine. Its founder and central figure, Sultan Sahak, was a Kurd, and its sacred poetry is composed in the Gorani Kurdish tongue. Pir Benyamin, as the foremost of the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak, is thus a central figure of this Kurdish religious tradition, the great spiritual guide of the faith. The Yarsani faith has been preserved by its community through many centuries, often in the face of persecution and misunderstanding, and the tradition, with its holy companions such as Pir Benyamin, deserves to be known and understood accurately and with respect, as a living religion of great depth. As one of the distinctive religious traditions of the Kurdish people, Yarsanism, with its vision of the holy companions and the great Pir Benyamin, is a precious part of the spiritual heritage of the Kurds. In presenting Pir Benyamin, then, we present one of the most beloved figures of this living Kurdish religious tradition, the foremost of the Seven, the great spiritual guide of the Yarsani faith.
Debates and Misconceptions
Is Pir Benyamin simply a historical holy man, or a holy being? In the Yarsani understanding, the holy companions, the Haftan, are not merely historical figures but are understood as holy beings made manifest in the world, accompanying the manifestation of the divine. Pir Benyamin is thus revered as a holy being of the highest rank, the foremost of the Seven, while the tradition also preserves an account of his earthly life, born near Mount Shahu and received by Sultan Sahak at Sheikhan. He is best understood, in the terms of the faith itself, as a holy companion of the divine, both a revered figure of sacred history and a holy being of the Yarsani vision.
Is Yarsanism a branch of another religion? Yarsanism, or Ahl-e Haqq, is a distinct religious tradition in its own right, with its own sacred poetry, holy companions, vision of the divine, and religious order. While it shares, like all the traditions of the region, in the broad religious heritage of the area, and while outsiders have sometimes wrongly labelled or misunderstood it, it is a coherent and distinctive faith, deserving to be understood accurately and respectfully on its own terms, as a living religion of the Kurdish people. The Yarsani themselves reject various disparaging or inaccurate labels applied to them by outsiders.
Are the sacred poems of the faith to be freely quoted or treated lightly? No; the Kalam-e Saranjam, the sacred poetry of the Yarsani faith, is holy and revered, the divinely revealed verse of the tradition, and it is treated with the greatest respect. In presenting Pir Benyamin, we name and honour the sacred tradition and its poetry, the holy verse in which he is celebrated, with the respect due to the sacred literature of a living faith, rather than treating it as mere material. The reverence due to the holy companions such as Pir Benyamin and to the sacred Kalam is part of understanding the Yarsani faith rightly, as the Yarsani themselves understand it.
Related Topics
Sultan Sahak: the great manifestation of the divine, whom Pir Benyamin served
Dawud: another of the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak
Baba Yadgar: a revered holy figure of the Yarsani faith
Tawuse Melek: the Peacock Angel of the Yazidi faith
Newroz: the new-year festival of the Kurdish world
Shahmaran: the sacred serpent queen of Kurdish lore
Zoroaster: the prophet of the ancient Iranic faith
The Simurgh: the great mythic bird of Iranic legend
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Pir Benyamin in the Yarsani faith?
Pir Benyamin is the foremost of the Haftan, the Seven holy companions of Sultan Sahak, and the great spiritual guide of the Yarsani or Ahl-e Haqq faith, honoured as the Pir of the highest rank, charged with the guidance and redemption of the faithful. According to the tradition, he was born in the 13th century near Mount Shahu in Hawraman and was received by Sultan Sahak at the village of Sheikhan, becoming his foremost holy companion.
What are the Haftan?
The Haftan, meaning the Seven, are the seven holy companions of the divine manifestation in the Yarsani faith, chief among the holy companions who accompany the divine. In the cycle of Sultan Sahak, the great manifestation of the divine, the most often named of the Seven are Pir Benyamin, Dawud, and Pir Musi. The Haftan are understood as holy beings, and they are at the heart of the Yarsani vision of the divine and its holy companions.
What is Pir Benyamin responsible for?
Pir Benyamin is charged with the great work of guidance and redemption, the showing of the right way to the faithful and the leading of souls toward salvation. This is the highest of responsibilities, fitting for the foremost of the Seven. The role of the Pir, the spiritual guide, is central to the Yarsani faith, and Pir Benyamin is the great Pir, the source and model of this guidance, the foremost spiritual guide of the whole tradition.
What is the Kalam-e Saranjam?
The Kalam-e Saranjam is the sacred poetry of the Yarsani faith, the holy verse of the tradition, composed and transmitted in the Gorani Kurdish tongue, the sacred language of the Ahl-e Haqq. These divinely revealed poems celebrate the manifestations of the divine and their holy companions and preserve the sacred knowledge of the faith. Pir Benyamin, as the foremost of the Seven, is honoured throughout this sacred poetry, often recited to the accompaniment of the sacred tanbur.
Is Yarsanism a Kurdish religion?
Yes; Yarsanism, or Ahl-e Haqq, is a distinctive religious tradition followed by Kurds, chiefly in the Hawraman, Guran, and Kermanshah regions and among related communities. Its founder and central figure, Sultan Sahak, was a Kurd, and its sacred poetry is composed in the Gorani Kurdish tongue. It is a living religion of great depth, with its own holy companions, sacred poetry, and vision of the divine, and a precious part of the spiritual heritage of the Kurds.
Why is Pir Benyamin so revered?
Pir Benyamin is revered as the foremost of the Seven holy companions, the Pir of highest rank, and the great spiritual guide charged with guidance and redemption, the highest of responsibilities. His closeness to Sultan Sahak, the great manifestation of the divine, and his role as the source and model of spiritual guidance make him a figure of the deepest importance in the Yarsani faith. He is honoured throughout the sacred poetry of the tradition as the great Pir and foremost holy companion.
References and Further Reading
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