Sultan Sahak: The Founder of the Yarsani Faith
- Sherko Sabir
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Introduction
Sultan Sahak (Soltan Sahak) is the founder of Yarsanism, one of the oldest and most distinctive of the Kurdish religions. A mystic who lived around the turn of the 15th century in the mountains of Hawraman, he gathered a community at Perdiwar and gave shape to a faith that his followers, the Ahl-e Haqq or 'People of Truth', still hold today.
For Yarsanis, Sultan Sahak is far more than a founder. He is revered as the central earthly manifestation of God, the most important of the divine incarnations through which, they believe, the divine has repeatedly entered the world. His life and teachings stand at the very centre of one of Kurdistan's great esoteric traditions.
Contents
Who Was Sultan Sahak?
Sultan Sahak was a Kurdish religious leader and mystic of the late 14th and early 15th centuries who founded the Yarsani faith (also called Ahl-e Haqq or, in Iraq, Kaka'i). Born into a sheikhly family in the Hawraman region, he established a religious community at Perdiwar on the Sirwan river and taught a path centred on divine incarnation, reincarnation and the sacred assembly. Yarsanis revere him as a manifestation of God himself.
Key Takeaways
Sultan Sahak founded the Yarsani faith (Ahl-e Haqq) around the late 14th to early 15th century.
He established his community at Perdiwar, in the Hawraman mountains of the Kurdish world.
Yarsanis revere him as the central earthly manifestation (mazhar) of God.
His teachings centre on divine incarnation, the Seven Beings (Haft Tan), and reincarnation.
The faith's sacred hymns, the kalams, are in Gorani Kurdish and are sung to the sacred tanbur lute.
Quick Facts
Name: Sultan Sahak (Soltan Sahak; also Sultan Es'haq, Sultan Ishaq)
Lived: Late 14th to early 15th century (dates uncertain)
Background: A Kurd of the Barzanji sheikh lineage; son of Shaykh Isa and Khatun Dayerak of the Jaf tribe
Founded: Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq / Kaka'i) at Perdiwar, in the Hawraman/Guran region
Status in the faith: Revered as the central earthly manifestation (mazhar) of God
Sacred text: The Kalam-e Saranjam, in Gorani (Hawrami) Kurdish
Sacred music: The tanbur, a holy lute, played at the jam assembly
Key teachings: Divine incarnation, the Seven Beings (Haft Tan), reincarnation
Tomb: At Perdiwar on the Sirwan river, a Yarsani place of pilgrimage
Attestation: A historical figure preserved in Yarsani sacred tradition (Oral to Written)
The Life of Sultan Sahak
Sultan Sahak was born in the second half of the 14th century into a family of religious standing, of the Barzanji sheikh lineage. His father, Shaykh Isa, was a Sufi sheikh, and his mother, Khatun Dayerak, came from the Jaf tribe. Yarsani tradition surrounds his birth with miracle, telling that he was conceived when a pomegranate seed, or a ray of light, passed to his mother, marking him as no ordinary child.
He grew up in the Hawraman mountains, the high country straddling the modern Iran-Iraq border, and settled at Perdiwar on the banks of the Sirwan river. There, breaking with the religious authorities of his day, he gathered a community of followers and began to teach a new path.
At Perdiwar, Sultan Sahak laid down the practices and beliefs that still define Yarsanism: the sacred assembly, the role of the Seven Beings, and the discipline of the faith. The hymns composed in this first community, the Perdiwari texts, are regarded as the foundation of Yarsani scripture.
After his death he was buried at Perdiwar, and his tomb there remains one of the holiest Yarsani sites. Yet in Yarsani belief he did not simply die: as a manifestation of the divine, his spirit belongs to a cycle far longer than a single human life.
The Yarsani Faith He Founded
God, Truth and the Divine Incarnations
Yarsanism is a monotheistic faith built on a striking idea: that the one God, known as Haqq ('the Truth' or 'the Real'), has entered the world in a succession of human manifestations. Yarsanis speak of seven great incarnations of the divine across the ages, and Sultan Sahak is honoured as the central and most important of them. This belief in divine manifestation, shared with Gnostic and some Sufi currents, sets Yarsanism apart from the mainstream Abrahamic faiths.
The Haft Tan and the Sacred Assembly
Accompanying the divine incarnations are the Haft Tan, the 'Seven Beings', a heptad of holy companions who appear alongside them through the ages. At the heart of Yarsani worship is the jam, the sacred communal gathering, held in an assembly hall where believers share consecrated food, the niyaz, as an offering and a communion. Good deeds toward others are valued above formal ritual.
The Tanbur and the Kalam
Yarsani worship is inseparable from music. The tanbur, a long-necked lute, is regarded as a sacred instrument, and the faith's hymns, the kalams, are sung and played upon it during the jam. The central scripture, the Kalam-e Saranjam, is composed in Gorani (Hawrami) Kurdish, the sacred language of the tradition. Much of this knowledge is esoteric, traditionally guarded within the community and valued more in living recitation than on the page.
Reincarnation and the Soul's Journey
A core Yarsani teaching is the journey of the soul through many lives. Yarsanis believe in reincarnation: the soul passes through a long succession of bodies, traditionally said to be as many as a thousand and one, over thousands of years, gradually purifying itself on the way toward union with the divine.
Underlying this is a vision of two worlds, the inner (batini) and the outer (zahiri). Human beings live in the visible outer world but are governed by the hidden order of the inner one. To follow the Yarsani path is to attend to that inner reality, of which the outer world is only the surface.
Sacred Sites and the Yarsani Today
The holiest Yarsani sites are the tombs of the faith's central figures: the shrine of Sultan Sahak at Perdiwar, on the Sirwan, and the tomb of Baba Yadgar in the Dalahu mountains, both places of pilgrimage. For many Yarsanis, such pilgrimage is held to be more fitting than the journey to Mecca.
Today Yarsanis number perhaps a million or more, most of them Kurds of the Guran region, concentrated in the Iranian provinces of Kermanshah, Kurdistan and Lorestan, with the related Kaka'i communities in Iraq. As an unrecognised religious minority, Yarsanis have often faced pressure and discrimination, and many guard their traditions closely. Their faith endures as one of the most remarkable expressions of Kurdish religious life.
Parallels with Yazidism and Older Faiths
Yarsanism is one of a family of Kurdish esoteric religions, and its kinship with Yazidism is striking. Both are monotheistic faiths that picture creation beginning with a primordial pearl, both honour a heptad of seven Holy Beings, both believe in reincarnation, and both preserve their teachings in sacred song rather than a single public scripture.
The Yazidi creation account and its seven angels have clear echoes in the Yarsani pearl and the Haft Tan, and figures such as the serpent queen Sahmaran are revered in both traditions. Scholars also trace in Yarsanism the influence of older Iranian religion. Yet for all these parallels, Yarsanism is a distinct faith with its own founder, language and scripture, and it should not be merged with Yazidism, Alevism or Islam.
Debates and Misconceptions
Is Yarsanism a branch of Islam? Yarsanism grew up in a world shaped by Sufism and Shiism and uses some of their vocabulary, and outsiders have often treated it as a Muslim sect. But Yarsanis assert their independence: their belief in divine incarnation and reincarnation, and their own scripture, places them outside mainstream Islam, as a distinct religion.
When did Sultan Sahak live? The accounts differ. He is generally placed in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, but Yarsani tradition and outside scholarship give varying dates, and his life is wrapped in sacred legend. He is a historical figure, but one seen through the lens of faith.
Related Topics
The Yazidi creation myth: the kindred Kurdish pearl cosmogony
The Seven Angels of Yazidism: the Yazidi heptad, parallel to the Haft Tan
Sahmaran: the serpent queen revered in the Yarsani tradition
The Haft Tan: the Seven Beings of Yarsani belief
Baba Yadgar: the Yarsani saint and shrine in the Dalahu mountains
The tanbur: the sacred lute of the Ahl-e Haqq
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Sultan Sahak?
Sultan Sahak was a Kurdish mystic of the late 14th and early 15th centuries who founded the Yarsani faith (Ahl-e Haqq). Yarsanis revere him as the central earthly manifestation of God.
What is Yarsanism?
Yarsanism, also called Ahl-e Haqq or Kaka'i, is a distinct Kurdish religion founded by Sultan Sahak. It teaches that God has manifested in human form through the ages, believes in reincarnation, and centres its worship on sacred hymns and the tanbur lute.
What do Yarsanis believe about Sultan Sahak?
They revere him as a mazhar, an earthly manifestation of God, and as the most important of the divine incarnations. His teachings, given at Perdiwar, form the foundation of the faith.
What is the sacred book of the Yarsani?
The principal scripture is the Kalam-e Saranjam, composed in Gorani (Hawrami) Kurdish. Much Yarsani teaching is esoteric and transmitted orally, sung to the sacred tanbur, rather than read from a public text.
How is Yarsanism related to Yazidism?
They are distinct but kindred Kurdish faiths. Both feature a primordial pearl, a heptad of seven Holy Beings and a belief in reincarnation, but they have different founders, languages and scriptures and should not be confused.
References and Further Reading
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