The Truth about the Yezidis

Yezidi Reformer: Sheikh Adi

Sheikh Adî is a divine being who resides in the same heaven as TM. After he took physical form so did all the seven angels except TM. Shaeikh Adî ibn Mustafa who is said to be of Umayyad descent from the Beka’a Valley of Lebanon. He settled in the valley of Lalişh (some thirty-six miles north-east of Mosul) in the early 12th century AD. Shaeikh Adî himself, a figure of undoubted orthodoxy, enjoyed widespread influence. He died in 1162, and his tomb at Lalish is a focal point of Yazidi pilgrimage. During the fourteenth century, important Kurdish tribes whose sphere of influence stretched well into what is now Turkey (including, for a period, the rulers of the principality of Jazira) are cited in historical sources as Yazidi.

Sheike Adi believed that the spirit of Melek Ta'us is the same as his own, perhaps as a reincarnation. He is believed to have said: "I was present when Adam was living in Paradise, and also when Nemrud threw Abraham in fire. I was present when God dais to me: (You are the ruler and Lord of the Earth). God, the compassionate, gace me seven earths and the throne of heaven."

Sheike Adi determined that Yezidi can not convert to another religion and a person from another religion can not become Yezidi. There were those who wanted to become Yezidi and cause trouble within the religion.

Sheikh Adi created the priest class. He created the Faquir class within the priest class.

There is some desultory information of Shaikh 'Adi and his teaching in the religious canticles. Thus, in the Prayer and Confession in the Yezidi Religion, the Yezidi name of the Shaikh is mentioned four times: 'Bread is from Shaikh 'Adi's storehouse'; 'Shaikh 'Adi sits on the throne'; 'My religion is [from] Sharf ad-Din' (one of the components of his complete name); and ' Shaikh 'Adi is the One God'.

The Madihat shaikh 'Adi begins with the author's self-proclamation as the bearer of the Truth (haqq) and the creator of everything by the will of God. The culmination of the poem comes with the words of the Shaikh's self-identification as God; later this idea became an integral part of the Yezidi tradition:

"I am 'Adi, ash-Shami, [son of] Musafir ...
In the depth of my knowledge there is no God but me.
These things are subservient to my power."

This fact confirms the opinion that after the death of the Shaikh, his followers divided into two groups. The first group settled in Egypt and Syria and continued the Islamic history of the tariqa. The others, chiefly the members of 'Adi's family and the accomplice Shaikhs, joined the Kurdish religious community in holding the position of its spiritual leaders [49:226].

The Kitab Manaqib ash-shaikh 'Adi b. Musafir (The Book of Merits of Shaikh 'Adi b. Musafir) on twenty-six pages from the same manuscript, this work speaks of the Shaikh's miracles (karamat) and contains a list of his forty disciples. The date of its composition is unknown.

Nowadays, the scholars maintain that 'Adi b. Musafir came to the Kurdish mountains of Hakkari from ash-Sham (historical Syria). The Yezidi tradition says:

"Shaike 'Adi came from [ash-] Sham. In the East [of his homeland he] started to work, Virtue is upon the houses of [our] fathers, Shaike 'Adi himself is a gift of the Light, [He is] Light from the house of the Shaikhs."

[5:11, 18; See also 26:100, 104]

'Adi b. Musafir was born between 1073 and 1078 in Beit-Far in Baalbek that is situated in the Beqaa valley of the present-day Lebanon. Baalbek was surrounded by marvellous ruins. In his childhood, 'Adi must have been visiting the grand Sun-God temple in Tadmur, not totally destroyed. At the main gates of the Bacchus temple, he could have seen the gracious portrayals of poppy and wheat symbolising alternation of life and death. One cannot exclude that all this contributed to 'Adi's mystical way of thinking when he would settle in the peaceful haven in the Kurdish mountains, with severe winters and long springs [36:151-152].

Afterwards, 'Adi's birth would be described through picturesque legends. One legend said that before his birth he had been foreseen as a pre-eminent person. Another legend speaks of 'Adi's wise speeches in his early childhood. According to the third one, 'Adi's future as a Sufi was pre-determined by events with his father [16:15-16].

"Musafir b. Isma'il, the father of 'Adi, went to a forest and remained there for forty years. Once he had a dream that someone told him: "O Musafir! Come out and copulate with your wife, and a Friend of God [i.e. Sufi] will come to you, whose fame will spread in the East and the West".

A young person, 'Adi b. Musafir moved to Baghdad and spent the first half of his life there. In this centre of culture and education, 'Adi learned from the esteemed figures such as Ahmad al-Ghazali and 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani; he also won respect for his good manners [15:86-87; 16:15-16; 49:226].

Data on 'Adi b. Musafir's life in Baghdad alongside his works may explain why 'Adi b. Musafir was prompted to leave Baghdad for Kurdish region.

First of all, in a devastated city he could hardly continue with his theological studies. Neither did 'Adi have relatives or close friends, the fact which could have had smoothed the negative effect of political and economical hardships.

Secondly, 'Adi's interest in Sufism and his ancestral homeland must be mentioned. Since the names and terms mentioned in 'Adi's qasidas may well be explained by his acquaintance with Kurdish life, it is possible that while living in Baghdad, he visited the Hakkari mountains and established contacts with the locals. 'Adi might also have been acquainted with the Kurds living in and around Baghdad. That is why, 'Adi b. Musafir mentions the very name Lalish and alludes to Ahmad (b.) ar-Rifa'i's visit to Lalish in one of his qasidas, the motive appearing in Yezidi tradition, too.
Thirdly, as many Kurds assert, Shaikh 'Adi might have had an intention to propagate Islam amongst the Kurds in Hakkari. In doing so, he might have been following al-Hallaj's example [44:I,51].

One way or another, 'Adi b. Musafir desired to attain a Sufi life and thus secluded himself from the mundane world. He found a quiet haven in Hakkari, the Kurdish region, once ruled by Marwan II. In the observed period, it lost its independence and became subordinated to the rulers of Mosul [16:15-16].

There exists more than sufficient evidence that the territory of the present-day Kurdistan was the important Zoroastrian centre from the ancient times until the Islamic age [6:6-7; 23:123-124; 33:49-50,96; 41:33; 49:166-167].

At first, Shaikh 'Adi b. Musafir followed a life of solitude, and the local population invented implausible stories concerning his way of living. By way of illustration, there were legends that the Shaikh did not eat and never drank. And one day, in order to refute these rumours, Shaikh 'Adi 'ate something in the presence of people [16:7]. Here, 'Adi b. Musafir appears to carry out the mortification of the flesh and the cult of poverty (faqr), of which he wrote in Baghdad in his Kitab fihi dhikr adab an-nafs. Gradually, Shaikh 'Adi won respect from the local population thanks to his self-tortures, fasting and miracles - karamat [49:226].

Shaikh 'Adi understands asceticism as a move against ego. Certainly, his maxims are only addressed to those who seriously desire to subjugate the acme of Sufi life. He indicates that before taking honeycombs one should be ready to suffer many bee-stings. Substantiating his position by the Qur'an he warns against passion for the earthly life, 'Adi speaks of the necessity of keeping silence and of ruling over emotions shunning those being greedy of gain and fervent. An abundance of material things in the Shaikh's views is not what a Sufi needs, for Sufism supposes breaking comfort off.
'Adi's special words mean censure when he describes those wearing Sufi clothes and ignorant in pure Islamic principles: all the actions of a Sufi are determined by strict asceticism. He finds convincing arguments for self-tortures and fasting in maxims ascribed to Moses, Solomon, and Jesus. Here is one of those:
"Jesus called his disciples to remain hungry, thirsty, and naked in order that they may see the Most High, for "starvation is a key to piety, and there is immortality in it [starvation]". This and other references to the Biblical tradition once more emphasise 'Adi's ability to be beyond the exclusive Islamic views and limited fanaticism.

There is a story written by Shaikh 'Adi's nephew and successor as a ruler over the Yezidi community, Abu l-Barakat, which shows that the cult of poverty (faqr) was of special significance and success in 'Adi's Sufism:
"Once thirty poor men came to my uncle Shaikh 'Adi. Ten of them said: O master! Tell us something about the Truth. He told them, and they melted, and in their place a gulf of water remained. Then the next ten came nearer saying: Tell us something about the essence of Love [of God]. He told them, and they died. After that the last [ten] came nearer and said: O master! Tell us something about the essence of poverty (faqr). He told them, and they rent their garments, and went out naked".

Then with their questions and problems, the people started to come to this dark-complexioned, medium height person whose speeches "fascinated emotionally rather than rationally" [16:8; See also 12:29; 15:52].
Surrounded by his disciples, 'Adi b. Musafir preached in both Arabic and Kurdish [15:103].
Before long, Christians, Muslims, and the members of other ethno-religious communities of the region joined the Yezidi Kurds, who had already regarded Shaikh 'Adi as their teacher [24:77].

Miracles

Ahmad b. ar-Rifa'i arrived from Baghdad to meet Shaikh 'Adi and to compete with him. As the story says, when 'Adi sent his major disciple, Memê Resan, to invite other Sufis to Lalish:
"Sayid Abu 'l-Wafa raised his voice:
Let us stop this boasting and let us go [to visit] the poor one" [19:292-293; 26:106.].
The Sufis are surprised that 'Adi, or as they call him Xudanê Hekarê ('the Lord of Hakkari') can live in such a cavern. When Ahmad b. ar-Rifa'i requests water for ablutions and prayers, 'Adi first says that contemplation is the best way of purification, but then works a miracle and orders the water from the stream of Zamzam well to appear in his place. The Sufis react to this by exclaiming:
"We have not the power to release water" [19:296-297; 26:108].
After some other miracles, 'Adi made his superiority evident to his guests. The remarkable finale of the text reflects the Yezidi cosmic belief that Shaikh 'Adi is not only their saint, but also one of Divine incarnations.

Shaikh and his accomplices away from the Fire of Hell
The second story is narrated by Shaikh al-Barisiqi. Once, Shaikh 'Adi addressed him while they were crossing the village cemetery: "Have you not heard that those buried there appeal to me for help?" Pointing to one of the graves emitting puffs of smoke, Shaikh 'Adi came nearer to it and began to ask God to take compassion on that man. According to al-Barisiqi, the smoke immediately ceased, and the Shaikh informed him that the deceased was forgiven. To prove this, Shaikh 'Adi asked the buried person whose name was Hasan: "O Hasan! Do you enjoy your place?" And an astonished al-Barisiqi heard from the grave: "Yes, yes".

Once Shaikh 'Adi's servant, 'Umar, made complaints to his master that he knew only two suras from the Qur'an from memory. Then, the Shaikh punched into 'Umar's breast, and the servant immediately became able to recite the whole Qur'an.
Shaikh Harun b. Khalid narrates that 'Adi b. Musafir used to linger on caves, mountains, and deserts. There, snakes and wild beasts unsuspectingly and trustfully went up to him.
According to the last story, once, 'Adi travelled to Mosul at his followers' request. While the whole city was in a joyful excitement, one of Mosul 'ulama', called Yunus, envied Shaikh 'Adi's fame and intended to test his religious erudition. However, Yunus himself was unable to answer a simple theological question of 'Adi. Later, an ashamed Yunus explained his confusion by a miraculous case: when he was about to answer that question, he saw lions at 'Adi's right and left hands who opened their mouths wide and would gorge him if he dared to say a word.
As is known, the lions in many cultures are firm guards of divinities. Here lions protect 'Adi b. Musafir and thus indicate that even his opponents (lest followers and disciples alone) believed in his holiness.

This fact could have promoted the syncretic nature of Yezidism. At least other two factors also contributed to the syncretism of the Yezidi creeds:

In Hakkari, the Shaikh had founded his tariqa, whose members would split into two groups after his death. The first one settled in Egypt and Syria and existed as an Islamic tariqa until at least the sixteenth century. The others, chiefly the members of 'Adi's family and the other Shaikhs, joined the Kurdish religious group through filling the position of its spiritual leaders [49:226].
In his declining years - when he was about ninety years old - Shaikh 'Adi b. Musafir passed away in Lalish. The exact year of his death is not known for certain: either 555, or 557, or 558 in hijrah, that is, about 1162 AD [12:29; 15:88; 16:15,17].

Sufi Influences

The Yezidi folklore has a number of fascinating poetical stories concerning the miracles - karamat - worked by a woman Sufi Rabi'a al-'Adawiya [5:29-33].
Borne into a poor home, Rabi'a al-'Adawiya al-Qaysiya was stolen as a child and sold into slavery, but due to her piety she managed to obtain freedom. This fact might have contributed to her sensitivity in social questions [53:195; 57:354].
Rabi'a was said to have been one of the three most celebrated female mystics of Basra. Nonetheless, we know very little of her teachers: her later biographers name her as al-Hasan al-Basri's disciple. In turn, she was believed to have disciples: Rabah b. 'Amr, Malik b. Dinar, Sufyan b. ath-Thauri and others [53:195; 57:354].
Rabi'a's views may only be proceeded from her maxims and poetical strophes that passed to her biographers and Sufis. It is remarkable that al-Ghazali would later treat and interpret them in his Ihya 'ulum ad-Din [57:354-355].
She seems to be a radical asceticism (zuhd) by teaching a total indifference towards the earthly joys and troubles: a Sufi, in her opinion, must serve God for His own sake. Rabi'a al-'Adawiya was famed for her dominant ideas of mahabba - all-absorbing and unselfish love of God - and the fellowship with God (uns). According to Rabi'a, rigorous religious rules and strict asceticism were a precondition for understanding Divine love and for meeting and talking to Him. Thus, Rabi'a's mystical interpretation, grounded on the Qur'an (2:165/160,222; 5:54/59 etc.), was a continuation of ascetic behaviour of earlier ascetics - Zuhhud [53:195-196].
Rabi'a al-'Adawiya influenced theological views of Bayazid al-Bistami, al-Hallaj, Ibn al-Farid, Ibn al-'Arabi and others who regarded her as a wali (saint). Rabi'a's image became legendary and didactic due to her supernatural capabilities and impressive miracles [53:196].
According to Nikitine, a more thorough analyses of Rabi'a's activity in Jerusalem in 752 would explain much about sources of Sufism in the Seldjuk period [49:234].
As far as Yezidi poetry is concerned, it alludes to her image and even some facts of her life, certainly, in a way characteristic of Yezidi mythological constructions. Thus, the Yezidi story refers to Rabi'a's Arab descent calling her 'Rabi'a the Arab', the fact which corresponds to her origin [5:II,33].

With regard to al-Bistami (Sêx Bazîd of the Yezidi story), he tells Rabi'a:
"We are [your] Shaikhs [and] you are [our] murid" [5:31].
Rabi'a replies that the only Shaikh whom she recognises is the Lord. Moreover, after that she overruns ªêx Bazîd in working miracles [5:32].
Here again, Rabi'a al-'Adawiya is placed in the Yezidi setting: she stresses that everything in this world happens as is written by Sultan Yazid, a Yezidi incarnation of a lower deity, alongside Shaikh 'Adi and Melekê Taus [5:33].
Furthermore, Shaikh 'Adi himself, probably in the capacity of a deity, in the presence of a group of women, thrice accepts Rabi'a's miracles: three times are needed to prove the complete of acceptance [5:33].
Evidently, her fame passed to the Yezidi Kurds due to 'Adi b. Musafir, who belonged to the same ecstatic trend in Sufism. Following the habit of some Sufis, both Rabi'a and 'Adi would retire to a life of seclusion and celibacy and gather disciples and associates around them [57:354].

Shaikh 'Adi must also have appreciated Rabi'a due to the facts that she was regarded as al-Hasan al-Basri's disciple and al-Hallaj was believed to be one of her followers.

On the bases of 'Adi's works in Baghdad and his speeches, miracles, fasting and self-tortures in Hakkari, I come to the conclusion that he belonged to a highly ecstatic trend in Sufism. Not surprisingly, many such ecstatic Sufis are popular amongst the Yezidi Kurds as Rabi'a al-'Adawiya, 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani and, of course, al-Hallaj, all of them having a special respect for al-Hasan al-Basri.

Al-Hallaj

Shaikh 'Adi might have been impressed by al-Hallaj's refusal to be identified with an elite Sufism, his reliance upon indigent social strata, his strict asceticism and his miracles. Even a hundred years after al-Hallaj's execution, some people in Baghdad still believed in his divine return. According to Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri, in 1008, there were people in Baghdad who "still waited there on the banks of the Tigris, in the hope that he would arise from it", and one of them saw him there [46:289].
During his life in Baghdad, 'Adi b. Musafir had first-hand knowledge about - if not sympathy with - such hopes. Some facts recorded from al-Hallaj's son, Hamd, have direct parallels with 'Adi's life. Presumably, since al-Hallaj was so important for 'Adi, the latter might have tried to imitate his actions, although this cannot be firmly proven.
A particular element which must have impacted 'Adi's views is the image of 'Isa/Jesus as an ideal prophet: similarly to al-Hasan al-Basri, al-Hallaj was preoccupied with the theme 'Isa-Mahdi and the prophet's actions [44:I,659;II,231,397 etc.; 46:285].
According to an expressive story of al-Hallaj's asceticism, once he was dressed pitifully and was given an old- cast-off robe. Then, al-Hallaj recited his verses denouncing the importance of cloth for Divine Freedom [44:I,46].
In this respect, I shall later present a story written by Shaikh 'Adi's nephew and successor as ruler of the Yezidi community, Abu l-Barakat, which demonstrates that being without clothes was a crucial element in 'Adi's strict cult of faqr [16:8].
Another legendary feature of 'Adi's asceticism is fairly common for the majority of ecstatic Sufis including al-Hallaj: after having resided on Hakkari, 'Adi himself cultivated his plot of arable land, sowing cotton and manufacturing his own clothes. He never drank anyone else's water, neither did he eat anyone's food, nor used anyone's goods. This gave birth to the legends of 'Adi's ability to manage without food. Even the fact that 'Adi b. Musafir was said to have died in the lone house that he had built himself has a parallel with al-Hallaj: after his third pilgrimage al-Hallaj purchased property in Baghdad and built himself a house for receiving people [16:7; 44:I,52].
'Adi must have learned of the vicissitudes of al-Hallaj's life, especially the fact that while ordinary people welcomed him, some Sufis hated him for his popularity. 'Adi b. Musafir himself experienced similar hatred because of his popularity, or, at any rate, he pretended to compare his fame with that of al-Hallaj by stressing that those who envied him did not succeed to put his religious erudition into a question [15:66-67].

The Shi'ites accused al-Hallaj with da'wa ila 'l-rububiya' - 'public claiming of the supreme power of God' - implying political aims at replacing Imam. Besides, initial terms of the execution of al-Hallaj have been worsened under a Shi'ite influence who at any cost attempted to punish him: it was the time when after al-Mahdi's disappearance in 873-74, emotions among the Shi'ites ran high [44:I,197,342-43,445 etc.].

After 'Adi b. Musafir's death, the Yezidi Kurds started to believe that he was one of three incarnations of a lower deity ruling the universe. The sources tell us that the doctrine of the deification of the saint was typical of al-Hallaj's teaching and thus attracted to him the veneration of a whole group of state secretaries, dignitaries of the Court and governors of towns in Iraq, al-Jazira, al-Jibal, and beyond [44:I,68].

Some Kurds believe that al-Hallaj was a native from the Kurdish region of Urmiya [26:135].

As for their settlement in Hakkari, it is known that after al-Hallaj's execution some of his followers found refuge in the Kurdish mountains. Thus, in the eleventh century a Persian al-Hujwiri saw in the territory of modern Iraq "four thousands people calling themselves adherents of al-Hallaj" [46:287].

These parallels are more than a mere coincidence: both al-Hallaj and 'Adi belonged to highly ecstatic trend in Sufism and both play substantial roles in the religious culture of the Yezidi Kurds. Then, one will be right to identify 'Adi b. Musafir as a Hallajian.

Hallaj later married and made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he stayed for one year, facing the mosque, in fasting and total silence. After his stay at the city, he traveled extensively and wrote and taught along the way. He travelled as far as India and Central Asia gaining many followers, many of which accompanied him on his second and third trips to Mecca. After this period of travel, he settled down in the Abbasid capital of Baghdad.

He was born in 857 at al-Tur in the Iranian province of Fars. His inititation into Sufism began early in life, while he was still a teenager. For over twenty years he lived in seclusion and was trained by a number of great Sufi masters of teh period: Sahl al-Tustari, 'Amr al-Makki, and al-Junavd.

Eventually however, al-Hallaj broke away from his teachers and became an itinerant preacher. His wandering led him through Arabia and Central Asia to teh Indian Subcontinent. He came in contact with sages and mystecs from a number of other religious traditions who expanded the horizons of his own religious experience. As he continued to mature spiritually, al-Hallaj continued to attract a large number of disciples. He became known as hallaj al-asrar "the carder of consciousness", a play on the family name al-Hallaj, which meant, "cotton carder".

The core of al-Hallaj's preaching was a call to moral reform and to the experience of intense union with the Beloved. Among al-Hallaj's poetic and prose writings, one phrase stands out as a paradigmatic expression of mystical ecstacy - his famous "Ana al-Haq!" ("I am the Divine Truth!"). To the ears of non-Sufis and to more sober elements in Sufism, al-Hallaj's self divining cry was tantamount to shirk, if not a bald rephrasing of Christian notion of incarnation (hulul).

Among other Sufis, Hallaj was an anomaly. Many Sufi masters felt that it was inappropriate to share mysticism with the masses, yet Hallaj openly did so in his writings and through his teachings. He began to make enemies, and the rulers saw him as a threat. This was exacerbated by times when he would fall into trances which he attributed to being in the presence of God. During one of these trances, he would utter Ana al-Haqq أنا الحق, meaning "Truth is me" or "I am God" and also, "In my turban is wrapped nothing but God," which was taken to mean that he was claiming to be God, as Al-Haqq is one of the Ninety Nine Names of Allah. In another statement, Hallaj would point to his cloak and say, "Maa Fil Jubbati Illa-Allah" meaning "There is nothing inside/underneath the cloak except God."

These utterances led him to a long trial, and subsequent imprisonment for eleven years in a Baghdad prison. In the end, he was tortured and publicly crucified (in some accounts he was beheaded and his hands and feet were cut off) by the Abbasid rulers for what they deemed "theological error threatening the security of the state." Many accounts tell of Al-Hallaj's calm demeanor even while he was being tortured, and indicate that he forgave those who had executed him. According to some sources, he went to his execution dancing in his chains. He was executed on March 26, 922.

al-Hallaj's image is very popular amongst the Kurds, both Muslim and Yezidi, and he had adherents in Kurdistan. Moreover, some of al-Hallaj's followers were said to have escaped in the Kurdish mountains after his execution. Yet, there is a source of caution: we know very little about the religious and cultural views of the Khallaj Kurds which must be expressed in their folklore.