# Adawiyya

Adawiyya (Arabic: العدوية; Kurdish: عدویتی) also pejoratively known as Yazidiyya (Arabic: اليزيدية; Kurdish: یزیدیتی), was a Sunni Sufi order founded by Adi ibn Musafir in Kurdistan. Adawiyya was a syncretic and heterodox sect, heavily influenced by Pre-Islamic religions. It later evolved into Yazidism.

## Origins

The Adawiyya order was founded by Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir. Adi ibn Musafir was from the Umayyad dynasty, born around 1075 in a village known as Bait Far, near Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. From his remote village, he travelled to Baghdad to study Sufism. Later, in the 11th century, he moved to Lalish, inhabited mainly by the Hakkari and Dasini tribes. The region was very dangerous and isolated at the time, as many Kurds had not converted to Islam and were hostile to outsiders. He was based in Lalish, where he founded the Adawiyya order. Abdulqadir Gilani had studied with Sheikh Adi in Baghdad, and helped Sheikh Adi settle in Kurdistan. Sheikh Adi was influenced by various Sufi sheikhs, including Abdulqadir Gilani, al-Ghazali, Hasan al-Basri, al-Hallaj, Qadib al-Ban and Fakhr al-Din al-Tabaristani.

## Belief system

Sheikh Adi settled among a group of Kurds who practiced a syncretism of Ancient Iranian religion and Ancient Mesopotamian religion. They accepted Islam, but they mixed it with the local beliefs. Adawiyya was led by Arabs, who comprised the clerical class. The vast majority of adherents were Kurmanji Kurds, with minorities of Arabs, Turks, and Persians. As Adawiyya was very isolated and most of its adherents were Kurds, the other ethnicities gradually assimilated. By the time that Adawiyya split from Islam and stopped accepting religious converts, virtually all of its adherents were Kurdish. For this reason, Islamic literature generally considered Adawiyya synonymous with Kurds.
Sheikh Adi claimed that Muslims must be guided by the Quran and Sunnah, and follow the examples of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. He highly respected Ali, although he hated Shia Islam. Sheikh Adi advocated for Fanaa, and told his followers "You should know that saints did not become saints by eating, drinking, sleeping, striking and beating, but that they rose until their state thanks to their religious zeal and their austere practices. The one who perishes for the love of God becomes a dress of honour for the Divinity and who comes closer to God by annihilating his own life, God gives him this life." The Adawis believed in Allah, who they referred to as Xwedê, Ellah, Reb, Heq, and Yazdan. Yazdan was an Iranic term for God. Adawis started some prayers with "Bismi Yazdan al-Ali al-Adhim al-Rahim al-Karim", meaning "in the name of Yazdan, the high, the great, the merciful, the generous." However, they mostly used the term Xwedê, which became more dominant.
The poetry of Sheikh Adi was similar to the poetry of Shah Ismail, often highlighting his heterodox views. The Adawis were partially a militant sect, and had similarities with the earlier Khurramites and the later Qizilbash. Sheikh Adi was believed to have supernatural powers and perform miracles. He was heavily influenced by Al-Hallaj, and also made statements in which he stated that he was one with God. Al-Hallaj, before his execution, made statements which many saw as his claim to divinity, while he claimed it was actually unity with God.

## History

Adi ibn Musafir died in January 1162, and his tomb in Lalish became a shrine for his followers. As he was an ascetic, his nephew, Sakhr Abu al-Barakat, succeeded him as the leader of Adawiyya. Sakhr Abu al-Barakat had rapidly grown Adawiyya. He also died at an old age and was buried near Adi ibn Musafir. He was succeeded by his son, Sheikh Adi II, who was the first Adawi leader born in Kurdistan, and known as "Adi the Kurd", to distinguish him from Adi ibn Musafir.
Adi the Kurd died and was succeeded by his son, Sheikh Hasan ibn Adi II. Under Sheikh Hasan, Adawiyya began to shift more towards the heterodox practices and diverge from Islam, although Adawis continued to identify as Sunni Muslims. Due to the Adawi veneration of Yazid ibn Muawiya, as well as the shared Umayyad lineage of Yazid and the Adawi sheikhs, many began to pejoratively refer to Adawis as "Yazidis", and Adawiyya as Yazidiyya. The terms became synonymous. Adi ibn Musafir praised Yazid, and also denied that Yazid had killed Hussein. Ibn Taymiyya had accused Sheikh Hasan of turning the respect for Yazid into an extreme reverence. Ibn Taymiyya did not takfir the Adawiyya. The term "Yazidi", was given to Adawis by Shias and some Sunnis. In turn, Adawis referred to Shias as "the rafida", and to their Sunni opponents as "the sharia", claiming that their Sunni opponents were not Muslims, but merely citizens of land ruled by Sharia. Adawis referred to themselves as "the sunna" or "ahl al sunnah wal jamaah", and to Adawiyya as "the sunna" or "the tariqa".
Other than Kurdistan, the Adawis were also present in Syria and Egypt as they had fled there during the Mongol invasions and conquests. Adawis also had good relations with Salahuddin and had a significant presence in his army. Adawis were very active in fighting the Crusaders.
Badr al-Din Lu'lu', an Armenian slave who became Zengid ruler of Mosul, had worried of a possible Adawi uprising and arrested Sheikh Hasan in 1246. In 1254, Badr al-Din Lu'lu' began a campaign against Adawiyya, and killed Sheikh Hasan. A contemporary noted that "after a bitter struggle, the Adawi Kurds were routed, some killed, others taken prisoner. Lulu crucified a hundred and executed a hundred more. He ordered their emir's arms and legs to be chopped off and displayed above the gates of Mosul. He also sent men to dig up Sheikh Adi's bones and burn them." Adawis were unfazed by the heavy losses and continued to launch revolts against the Zengids. Sheikh Hasan was succeeded by his son, Sharafuddin ibn al-Hasan. Under Sharafuddin, the Adawis successfully revolted and recaptured their native lands from the Zengids. However, Sharafuddin was killed in 1258 by the invading Mongol army. Sharafuddin became one of the namesakes of Yazidism.
Zaynuddin, the son of Sharafuddin, refused to lead the Adawis due to Mongol hostility, and instead settled in Damascus before moving to his ancestral Beqaa Valley, and later Egypt, where he died. Fakhruddin was the final leader of Adawiyya before it split from Islam. He was married to a Mongol woman and was on good terms with the Mongols. The tensions between Adawis and other Muslims, and the alienation of Adawiyya from Islam, led to an eventual religious schism.

## Schism

In the 13th century, Adawiyya gradually split from Islam and became Yazidism. In 1324, Abu Firas Ubaydullah ibn Shibl wrote that Yazidism had emerged as a religion independent from Islam. He claimed that Yazidism was Adawiyya after it became its own religion, and that Yazidis retained Adawi doctrines. He claimed that Adawis had never been Muslims but "Yazidis", who followed a religion centered around Yazid ibn Muawiyah. He further claimed that the "Adawi Yazidis" had been "misled by Satan who whispered to them that they must love Yazid, to such an extent that they say 'we are justified in killing and taking the property of whoever does not love Yazid.' They ceased to join Friday prayer, but the most deviant one of them was Hasan bin Adi."
Yazidis believed in a trinity appointed by God to handle the worldly affairs. The first emanation was Melek Tawus, the second was Sheikh Adi, and third was Sultan Ezid. They also believed that Melek Tawus, Fakhruddin, Sheikh Shams, Nasiruddin, Sijadin, Sheikh Abu Bakr (Şêxûbekir), and Hasan ibn Adi (Şêxsin), were avatars of the angels Azazil, Nura'il, Israfil, Shemna'il, Jibra'il, Mika'il, and Darda'il, respectively. Yazidis did not have the same concept of Satan as the Abrahamic religions did. Sheikh Adi defended Iblis, like his main influence Al-Hallaj, who claimed that Iblis did not prostrate to Adam because of how much he loved God. Muslims and Christians accused Yazidis of devil worship, due to Melek Tawus being the avatar of Azazil. However, Yazidis claimed that he was neither the devil, nor a fallen angel, nor a source of evil.
Sheikh Fakhruddin, the final leader of Adawiyya, along with his brothers Nasiruddin, Sheikh Shams, and Sijadin, were venerated in Yazidism as the four sons of Ezdina Mir. In Yazidi tradition, Ezdina Mir was the leader of the religion, before having passed his position to Sheikh Adi when he settled in Lalish in the 11th century. Despite their origin in Adawiyya, Yazidis did not identify as Muslims. Yazidis claimed that Adawiyya was their native beliefs which Sheikh Adi had organized based on Islam. Yazidism retained many Sufi elements, while retaining the pre-Islamic elements on a larger level. Yazidi religious texts were mostly in Kurmanji, with some in Arabic, and few in Turkish. Historically, many Yazidi religious texts were lost due to persecution.
During the early period of Yazidism in the 13th century, Sheikh Mand, the son of Fakhruddin, also emerged as the ruler of the Emirate of Kilis, and an Ayyubid military commander. His sister, Khatuna Fekhra, was also revered as an important Yazidi female saint. Sufi sheikh Ahmad al-Badawi also visited the tomb of Sheikh Adi.
Yazidi sheikhs were divided into three lineages, the Shamsani, the Adani, and the Qatani. Within the lineages, there were more lineages. The Shamsani were of Kurdish origin and claimed descent from the four sons of Êzdîna Mir, the Adani were of Arab origin and claimed descent from Hasan ibn Adi (Şêxsin), and the Qatani were also of Arab origin and claimed descent from Sheikh Abu Bakr (Şêxûbekir), a family member of Sheikh Adi.
Yazidis denied that their name came from Yazid ibn Muawiyah and claimed that it came from Sultan Ezid. Many believed that Sultan Ezid was simply a Kurdification of Yazid ibn Muawiyah, although the Yazidis denied it, regardless of their similarities. Yazidis continued to revere Yazid ibn Muawiyah, although much less after being incorporated into Iraq, which had a Shia majority. Kurdish nationalists praised Yazidism due to its native origin in Kurdistan, and presented it as the "original religion" of the Kurds, while attempting to depreciate Adi ibn Musafir and many Yazidi saints because of their Arab origin, as part of their attempts to include Yazidism in Kurdish nationalism and remove what they perceived to be Arab influence from the religion. Arab nationalists emphasized on their Arab origin of many Yazidi saints, and the historic role of Arabs in Adawiyya, as part of their attempts to present the Yazidis as Arabs who only differed from the other Arabs by religion.

## Sources

* Bajalan, Djene Rhys; Karimi, Sara Zandi (2017). Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnicity and Identity. Paris: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-2296001053.
* Guest, John S (2012). Survival Among The Kurds. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-15736-3.