British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 2013

Vol. 40, No. 1, 2–13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2012.734955

Futuwwa Varieties and the

Futuwwat-nāma Literature:
An Attempt to Classify Futuwwa and
Persian Futuwwat-nāmas
KHACHIK GEVORGYAN*

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to present Iranian futuwwa brotherhoods

in three main groups and to propose a systemised classification of their literature—
the futuwwat-nāmas—according to their belonging to a particular group. As a
result, in addition to Sufi (spiritual) and military futuwwa, a new futuwwa type or
group, namely ‘craftsmen chivalry’, will be posited. The futuwwa literature of these
three groups will be classified and similarities and differences discussed, with a
special focus on those attributed to Iranian craft guilds.

In the Middle Eastern Islamic territories the main type of male organisation, in the
Middle Ages, in parallel with famous Sufi orders, were the futuwwa organisations.
This term is derived from an Arabic root f-t-w meaning ‘to be young’. In the Persian
sources the word appears in the form futuwwa or in its Persian rendering
javānmardı̄. It designates the ideology of male associations, complete with unique
sets of rituals and codes of behaviour that existed in the Middle Ages, mainly in the
Middle East, among different social classes of Arabs, Iranians and Turkic people.
Ever since the first study of futuwwa in Western scholarship, it has been difficult
for scholars to suggest an exact definition of the word, as in different geographical
places the course of the historical development of the ideology has shown essential
changes in its nature, sometimes acquiring very elusive meanings. The most
common definition given to this ideology in Western scholarship is ‘Islamic
chivalry’.1 Nevertheless, broader discussions on this matter frequently appear in
scholarly publications. Gerard Salinger drew more attention to the question of the
usage of the word chivalry for the Muslim countries, for chivalry was a term used
mainly for European organisations that were mostly associated with the medieval
feudal system.2 Mohsen Zakeri has observed:
*Khachik Gevorgyan, Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, 1 Alex Manougian Street, 0025,
Yerevan, Armenia. E-mail: khachik.gevorgyan@ysu.am
1
It seems that for the first time the term ‘chivalry’ was coined in relation to futuwwa by the Austrian orientalist
and scholar Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall in his two articles on the topic: ‘Sur la chevalerie des Arabes anterieure
a celle de l’Europe, sur l’influence de la premiere sur la seconde’, Journal Asiatique (Quatrième Série, Tome XIII,
1849), pp. 4– 14; ‘Sur les passages relatifs a la chevalerie dans les historiens arabes’, Journal Asiatique
(Cinquième Série, Tome VI, 1855), pp. 282– 290.
2
Gerard Salinger, ‘Was the Futuwa an Oriental Form of Chivalry?’, Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society, 94(5) (October 1950), pp. 481–493.

q 2013 British Society of Middle Eastern Studies

 FUTUWWA VARIETIES AND THE FUTUWWAT-NĀMA LITERATURE

All in all, it is advisable we are constantly reminded, to avoid using technical terms of the
knighthood for similar phenomena in the Muslim world. In fact every area is unique but
one needs general terms to indicate comparable structures. One should not dismiss the
analogous elements in chivalry and its Muslim counterparts so frequently encountered at
the time of the crusaders, had given rise to Western knightly orders (Templars,
Hospitallers, etc.)—themselves, by the way, ‘knighthoods’ with no ties with fief, had
found expression on the Muslim side from earlier times in a kind of volunteer border-
fighting for the sake of the Holy War. For these fighters the futuwwa formed the ethical
organizing principles, and included the virtues not only of courage but of honor,
gentleness, courtesy and, by and large, chastity.3
The passage above mainly describes the nature and activities of the martial type
of futuwwa, while two other types of futuwwa—‘religious’ and ‘craftsmen’s’
futuwwa—were active in the Muslim Middle East among Arabs, Turks and
(mainly) Iranians.
Henry Corbin proposed a thesis of two stages in futuwwa, namely from ‘military
chivalry’ to ‘spiritual chivalry’.4 This division looks very similar to the European
concept of chivalry given by Maurice Keen, according to whom, European
‘ . . . chivalry may be described as an ethos in which martial, aristocratic and Christian
elements were fused together’.5 But in comparison with European chivalry, the Islamic
variety exhibits some crucial differences. For example, European chivalry was mainly
restricted to the upper and middle layers of society and was forbidden to the lower class.
There are many parallels between Islamic futuwwa and its European equivalent.
For example, one may point to the similar concept of behaviour—similar rites of
initiation, similar interpretations of those who are worthy of becoming members of
the organisation (based on generosity or other virtues), as well as a very similar
interrelation between secular and religious origins of the ideology. However,
unlike its European counterpart, futuwwa combined martial, aristocratic and
Islamic pietistic elements with the ideologies of craft guilds, peasants and workers.
Thus in Islamic chivalry, the lower class—artisans and tradesmen—was one of the
main components of the organisation. Accordingly, one of the characteristics of
Islamic chivalry was its accessibility to ordinary people.
Theoretically and theologically, futuwwa is similar to Sufism or tasawwuf.
_ _
Yet futuwwa was assimilated by different groups, commonly associated with the
6
artisans and trade guilds. Thus as the Sufi futuwwat-nāmas also show and clearly
state, futuwwa is the ideology of craft guilds as well. It was also the ideology and
the way of life of various groups of ghāzı̄z and ‘ayyārs—warriors fighting on the
borders of the Caliphate for the cause of Islam. On this occasion ‘Umar al-
Suhrawardı̄ stated: ‘The futuwwa is the simplified version of Sufism, and its rituals
and traditions are easier to understand for ordinary people’.7
3
Mohsen Zakeri, ‘Muslim “Chivalry” at the Time of the Crusaders: The Case of Usāma b. Munqidh’, Hallesche
Beiträge zur Orientwissenschaft, 22 (1996), pp. 29 –50, at p. 39.
4
In M. Sarrāf (ed.), Rasā’ı̄l-i javānmardān, with analytic introduction by H. Corbin (pp. 1 –109) (Tehran &
_
Paris: Mo’in Publishing House, 1352/1973), pp. 6–7; the Persian translation of the same introduction: H. Corbin,
Ayı̄n-i javānmardı̄, trans. Ehsān Naraqi (Tehran: Sokhan, 2004), p. 6.
5 _
Maurice Keen, Chivalry (New Haven, CT & London, Yale University Press, 1984), p. 16.
6
See http://iranica.com/articles/javanmardi
7
In Mohammad Jaafar Mahjoub, Ayin-i javanmardi ya futuwwa (New York: Bibliotheca Press, 2000), p. 107. It
_ _
should be noted that the same definition—that the futuwwa is the simplified version of Sufism—is given by
Suhrawardı̄ in his futuwwat-nāma at the end of the twelfth century (Shaykh Shihāb al-Dı̄n ‘Umar Suhrawardı̄,
‘Futuwwat-nāma’, in Sarrāf, Rasā’ı̄l-i javānmardān, p. 94).
_

3
KHACHIK GEVORGYAN

Sources
For the study of futuwwa there are several main groups of primary sources which
I classify as follows:

1. Historiographical literature: in historical chronicles and other writings, the

members of the futuwwa organisations, the so-called fityān, generally appear as
troublemakers, always ready in times of the breakdown of authority to harass
rich merchants by pillaging their shops and premises, in case they refused to
pay the so-called ‘protection money’. Mostly clients of aristocrats, the authors
of these treatises regarded fityān as simply brigands and bandits, giving no
attention to their ideological foundations.8
2. Sufi treatises: futuwwa is represented here as a collection of virtues necessary
for a pious believer, such as generosity, munificence, modesty, chastity,
trustworthiness, loyalty, mercifulness, knowledge, humility and piety, and it
was considered one of the stations that a ‘traveller’ passes on his way to God.
3. Folk narratives (Persian: dāstān), such as ‘Abu Muslim Nāma’, ‘Husayn-i
_
Kurd’, ‘Sammak-i ‘Ayyār’, ‘Amir Arslan’, etc., in which the bearers of
futuwwa in all probability are real historical personalities, although becoming
semi-legendary characters. The social status of this ideology is seen in these
folktales, where the followers of futuwwa, called ‘ayyārūn, are presented as
members of warrior organisations and semi-criminal bands who were
sometimes regarded as ‘generous robbers’ (like Robin Hood).
4. Finally, the richest source for the study of futuwwa are the so-called futuwwat-
nāmas, composed of representatives of different social strata, whose main
content is the ideology and ceremonies of these organisations. Thus, a
futuwwat-nāma is a collection of regulative and disciplinary norms of spiritual
chivalry. They have not preserved attestations of historical events and mainly
do not have any documentary value. The main goal of a futuwwat-nāma is to
educate the neophytes and improve them spiritually. Being hitherto considered
part of adab literature, yet being distinct from all other types of writing, these
treatises should be considered as a separate genre in Middle Eastern and
particularly in Persian literature.

Henry Corbin’s thesis that futuwwa passed from ‘military chivalry’ to ‘spiritual
chivalry’9 is based on fewer than 15 futuwwat-nāmas known in his time, and should
be reconsidered in the light of more than 40 newly published treatises, mainly
dedicated to craft guilds. These works demonstrate that a new form of futuwwa with
its own futuwwa literature emerged in the fifteenth– seventeenth centuries, which
I propose to call ‘craftsmen’s chivalry’. I propose the name ‘craftsmen’s futuwwa’
because the main corpus of craft treatises available represents the code of conduct of
such crafts that were unable to organise as a guild in its classical meaning. Such are
the crafts of bath attendants, cobblers, tea house workers and so on.
The fact that craftsmen’s chivalry existed as a part of the futuwwa structure can
be traced back in the futuwwat-nāmas, where the spiritual chivalry was called
8
C. Cahen and W.L. Hanaway Jr., ‘Ayyār’, Encyclopedia Iranica; I.B. Mikhaylova, Srednevekoviy Baghdad
(Medieval Baghdad) Vol. III, Fasc. 2, pp. 159–163 (Moscow: Nauka, Glavnaya Redaktsia Vostochnoy Literaturi,
1990).
9
Sarrāf, Rasā’ı̄l-i javānmardān, Introduction by H. Corbin, pp. 6–7; the Persian translation: Corbin, Ayı̄n-i
_
javānmardı̄, p. 6.

4
 FUTUWWA VARIETIES AND THE FUTUWWAT-NĀMA LITERATURE

futuwwat-i shurbı̄ (that of drinking), the military chivalry was called futuwwat-i
sayfı̄ (the futuwwa of the sword) and the craftsmen’s chivalry was called futuwwat-i
qawli ( futuwwat of the word). Some of the futuwwat-nāmas present only a
bipartite division, futuwwat-i qawlı̄ and futuwwat-i sayfı̄,10 and it was Najm al-Dı̄n
Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Zarkūb Tabrı̄zı̄ who for the first time introduced the
_
tripartite division at the end of the thirteenth century.11 Another futuwwat-nāma
which presents the tripartite division is that by an anonymous author, written at the
beginning of the fifteenth century.12
This final craftsmen’s chivalry stage shows that the development of futuwwa
ideology follows the three orders of men in society, where the futuwwat-i qawlı̄
represents the laboratories, futuwwat-i shurbı̄ represents the oratores, the Sufis,
and, finally, futuwwat-i sayfı̄ represents the bellatores.13
It is only natural that the futuwwa literature—the futuwwat-nāmas—should
have followed the proposed division of the futuwwat ideology. Here I propose to
classify the Persian futuwwat-nāma literature according to the mentioned tripartite
scheme as well.14 Consequently, in my opinion, the futuwwat-nāmas must also be
divided into three main groups according to particular types of futuwwa, i.e. Sufis’
futuwwat-nāmas, warriors’ futuwwat-nāmas and craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas.15
10
As Suhrawardı̄ mentions, there were some differences between these two groups in the ritual of initiation: ‘Dar
futuwwa nı̄z ’ahd-i dūst, yekı̄ sayfı̄ va yekı̄ qawlı̄’ (Suhrawardı̄, ‘Futuwwat-nāma’, in Sarrāf, Rasā’ı̄l-i
_
javānmardān, pp. 89–102, at p. 101); ‘There are two initiation pledges; one is by girding the sword (sayfi) and the
other is verbal (qawli)’ (translation of Suhrawardı̄’s futuwwat-nama in Lloyd Ridgeon, ‘Javanmardi: Origins and
Development until the 13th Century and Its Connection to Sufism’, Annals of Japan Association for Middle East
Studies, 21[2] [2006], pp. 49 –74).
11
Najm al-Dı̄n Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Zarkūb Tabrı̄zı̄, ‘Futuwwat-nāma’, in Sarrāf, Rasā’ı̄l-i javānmardān,
_ _
pp. 167–218; ‘Amma arbāb-i futuwwa ki hastand bar sih sinfand: yekı̄ qawlı̄, duvvum sayfı̄, siyyum shurbı̄’
(p. 187); ‘ . . . va shart-hā bar ı̄n tartı̄b va bi qasd, kası̄ digar nayāvarde ast . . . ’ (p. 192).
12 _ _
This futuwwat-nāma has been named Futuwwat-nāma-yi Mı̄rzā Abd al-‘Azı̄m Khān Qarı̄b by the editor.
Mehrān Afshārı̄ (ed.), Chahārdah risāla dar bāb-i futuwwa va asnāf (Tehran: Cheshme, 1381/2002), pp. 47– 119;
_
‘Amma, futuwwa sih mazhab ast mar fetyān ra, ke ba’zı̄ shurbı̄ va ba’zı̄ qawlı̄ va bażı̄ sayfı̄ bashand’ (p. 71). See
also the English translation by Lloyd Ridgeon in Jawanmardi, A Sufi Code of Honour (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 2011), pp. 108–146.
13
Julian Baldick paid attention to the threefold division of futuwwat within Iranian society, but his views were
mainly based on Zarkūb’s futuwwat-nāma, without any notion of futuwwat-nāmas belonging to craft guilds.
As one of the results of his research, Baldick concludes that ‘the continuity of the tripartite configuration from the
Mazdean, pre-Islamic past to the Islamic futuwwa is solidly established’, while stating that ‘[i]t does not depend
upon acceptance of the controversial views of Georges Dumezil. To him we do of course owe our inspiration in all
that has gone before; but our proof is independent, and confirms and strengthens his arguments, while weakening
those of his adversaries’. Julian Baldick, ‘The Iranian Origin of the Futuwwa’, Istituto Universitario Orientale,
Napoli, 50 (1990), pp. 345–361.
14
This theory has already been presented by the author. See K. Gevorgyan, ‘Fot’ovvat’i p’ulabažanum@ yev
fot’ovvat’nameneri dasakargman harc’@’ [The periodisation of the futuwwat and the problem of the classification
of futuwwatnamehs], Iran Nameh [Armenian Journal of Oriental Studies], 39 (Yerevan 2005), pp. 22–26; idem,
‘Fot’ovvat’i zargac’man p’uleri andradardz@ fot’ovvat’namenerum’ [The stages of the development of futuwwa
according to futuwwat-namas ], Iran-Nameh [Armenian Journal of Oriental Studies], 40 (Yerevan 2005),
pp. 43 –50; idem, ‘A New Glance at the Futuwwat-namas’, Paper presented at the International Conference
‘Asian and African Studies in the Universities of St Petersburg, Russia, Europe’, dedicated to the 150th
Anniversary of the Faculty of Asian and African Studies, St Petersburg State University, 4–6 April 2006
(Abstracts of Papers, pp. 182–183); idem, ‘An Attempt to Classify the Persian Futuwwat-namas’, Paper
presented at the Third Biennial Convention on Iranian Studies (Organised by the Association for the Study of
Persianate Societies, ASPS), Tbilisi, Georgia, 8–11 June 2007 (Abstracts of Papers, pp. 59 –60).
15
It should be noted from the outset that there were ‘transitional futuwwat-nāmas’, which were written in the
fourteenth–sixteenth centuries, the period of the spiritual chivalry–craftsmen chivalry transition, that were
mostly named futuwwat-nāma-yi Amı̄r al-Mūminı̄n ‘Alı̄. However, these works, sometimes not more than three or
four pages in length, are similar to Sufis’ futuwwat-nāmas. The famous Futuwwat-nāma-yi Sultānı̄ is also
_
considered a transitional futuwwat-nāma as it preserved the literary and folkloric features of both Sufi and
craftsmen futuwwa.

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KHACHIK GEVORGYAN

In what follows, I shall present a brief outline of this classification and present
distinct characteristics of each futuwwat-nāma group.

Three Main Types of Futuwwat-nāma

As an integral part of Iranian social life, the ideology of futuwwa and the movements
under its name have had numerous contacts with Islamic mystical movements
(tasawwuf). I believe that in the eleventh century, taking into consideration the
_
confrontation of normative Islam with mystical Islam, Sufi scholars developed as
much as possible the idea of futuwwa as an attempt to make Sufi ideology simpler,
more accessible and more attractive to ordinary people, in order to recruit new
members. The ‘ayyārs, who by that time were famous both in Arabia and Iran for
their generosity, prowess, mercy, etc., were the best candidates to assist futuwwa
and become members of this organisation. Thus, the first treatises on futuwwa carry
a strong influence of Sufism and are written by prominent Sufi authorities. The first
book on futuwwa is al-Sulamı̄’s Kitāb al-futuwwa, written in the fourth century
A.H. Here the author attempted to establish a union between not only normative
Islam and mysticism, but also divergent trends within Sufism.
There is a sufficient number of Sufi futuwwat-nāmas published in three
main collections of Persian futuwwat-nāmas16 as well as separately. The most
important of the Sufi futuwwat-nāmas published in Persian are the following:

1. Mawlānā Husayn Wā’ı̄z Kāshifı̄ (d. 910/1504– 1505), Futuwwat-nāma-yi

_
Sultānı̄, ed. M.J. Mahjūb (Tehran, 1971).
_ _
2. ‘Abd al-Razzāq Kāshānı̄ (d. 730–736/1329– 1335), Tuhfat al-akhawān fi
khasāyis al-fityān, in Sarrāf, Rasāil-i jawānmardān, pp. 29 –57.
_ _ _
3. Shams al-Dı̄n Muhammad bin Mahmūd āmulı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-yi mustakhrij
_ _
az nafāyis al-funūn (written in 736– 742/1335– 1341), in Sarrāf, Rasāil-i
_
jawānmardān, pp. 58– 88.
4. Shihab al-Dı̄n ‘Umar Suhrawardı̄ (539– 632/1145–1235), Futuwwat-nāma
(two treatises having the same name), in Sarrāf, Rasāil-i jawānmardān, pp. 89–
_
102 and 103–166.
5. Najm al-Dı̄n Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Zarkūb Tabrı̄zı̄ (d. 712/1312),
_
Futuwwat-nāma, in Sarrāf, Rasāil-i jawānmardān, pp. 167– 218.
_
6. Anonymous author (8 – 9/14 – 15 century), Futuwwat-nāma, in Afshārı̄,
Chahārdah risāla, pp. 53 – 117.
7. Mawlānā Nāsirı̄, Futuwwat-namā (written in 689/1310), in Abdalbaqi
Golpinarli, Futuwwa dar keshwar-hā-yi islāmı̄ va mākhiz-i ān, hamrāh bā
futuwwat-nāma-yi manzūm-i Nāsirı̄ (Tehran, 1379/2000), pp. 157– 197.
_
8. Mı̄r Sayyad ‘Alı̄ Hamadānı̄ (714– 786/1313– 1384), Risāla-yi futuwwatiya, in
Muhammad Riyād, Futuwwat-nāma; tārı̄kh, ayı̄n, adab wa rusūm (Tehran,
_ _
1382/2003), pp. 149– 198.

The interrelations between the ideology of futuwwa and that of the craft guilds
have long been the subject of scholarly debate. Some scholars, such as Franz
Taeschner and Claude Cahen,17 have expressed the view that in the countries of
16
Sarrāf, Rasā’ı̄l-i javānmardān; Afshārı̄, Chahārdah risāla; idem (ed.), Futuwwat-nāma-hā va Rasāil-i
_
khāksariya sı̄ risala), Tehran, Pažuhišgāh-i olum-i insān-i va mutāliāt-i farhang-i (1382/2003).
17
Franz Taeschner and Claude Cahen, ‘Futuwwa’, Encyclopaedia of Islam, CD-ROM Edition, Brill.

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 FUTUWWA VARIETIES AND THE FUTUWWAT-NĀMA LITERATURE

the Near East futuwwa orders had merged with the craft guilds in the later periods
of their existence (seventeenth – nineteenth centuries). Their ideology thus
became, according to these scholars, the canon of these guilds. However, the lack
of available sources at that time made this statement merely hypothetical. This
brought Willem Floor to the conclusion that there was no connection between
these two types of social organisations, since, according to this author, the sources
contain neither traces of the organisation of the guilds along the lines of the
futuwwa ideology, nor any attestation of futuwwa ceremonials being performed by
the latter (such as initiation rites).18 However, the recent publication of more than
20 futuwwat-nāmas makes it possible to tackle anew the problem of the
relationships between futuwwa and craft guilds. Taking into consideration
the study of the newly published craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas, as well as the
13 epistles by the khāksāri dervishes,19 it is obvious that in the seventeenth–
nineteenth centuries craft guilds in Iran were greatly influenced by futuwwa
ideology. In fact, the latter served them as a regulative canon in their inner life,
also influencing their ceremonies.20
The Iranian scholar Mihrān Afshārı̄ collected and published a number of
futuwwat-nāmas referring mainly to craft guilds (asnāf). In his first collection
_
(Chahārdah risāla), only the first anonymous treatise, the so-called Futuwwat-
nāma-yi Mı̄rza ‘Abd al-Azı̄m Khān Qarı̄b, can be considered a Sufi one, and
_
provides an overall view of the organisation, rituals, history and ideals of futuwwa.
The other texts mostly deal with specific craft groups as well as shātirs. Afshārı̄’s
_
second collection of Persian futuwwat-nāmas (Futuwwat-nāma-hā va Rasā’il-i
Khāksariya) is divided into two sections, the first of which mainly consists of short
risāla attributed to particular crafts, and the second part presents risāla of khāksārı̄
dervishes.
The craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas constitute the main body of the futuwwa
literature. These literary monuments sometimes do not have the term futuwwa in
the text or in the title and it is only because of the editors that such texts are termed
futuwwat-nāmas. The craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas in Persian generally have the
name risāla, like similar treatises in Central Asia. Still, while talking about the
Central Asian crafts and their literature, the Russian scholar Gavrilov mentions
that they are translations from Persian and that their Iranian origin is obvious.21
Thus because this literature in Iran is called both futuwwat-nāma and risāla, and
they have had their impact on Central Asian ones, the Central Asian risāla
constitute a part of the overall futuwwat-nāma literature.
18
W.M. Floor, ‘The Guilds in Iran – An Overview from Earliest Beginnings Till 1972’, Zeitschrift der
Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 125(1) (1975), pp. 99 –116; idem, ‘Guilds and Futuvvat in Iran’,
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 134(1) (1984), pp. 106–114; idem, “Asnāf”,
_
Encyclopedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 7, pp. 772 –778.
19
Afshārı̄, Chahārdah risāla; idem, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va Rasā’il-i Khāksāriya.
20
The Russian scholar V. Gordlevskiy has shown the same in the example of Turkish guilds: V.A. Gordlevskiy,
‘Dervishi Akhi Evrana I Tsekhi Turtsii’, Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR (VI series, vol. 21, issue 7, 1927), pp.
1171– 1194. idem, Gosudarstvo Seljukidov Maloy Azii (Leningrad: Izdatelstvo Akademii nauk SSSR, 1940), in
Izbranniye Sochineniya (Moskva, 1960), Vol. I, pp. 31 –307. For Bosnian guilds, see Ines Aščerić-Todd, ‘The
Noble Traders: The Islamic Tradition of “Spiritual Chivalry” ( futuwwa) in Bosnian Trade-Guilds (16th –19th
Centuries)’, The Muslim World, 97 (Izdatelstvo Vostochnoy Literaturi: April 2007), pp. 159–173.
21
M. Gavrilov, Risolya saratovskikh Remeslennikov (Tashkent, 1912), p. 10; idem, ‘O remeslennikh tsekhakh v
Sredney Azii I ikh statutakh Risolya’, in Izvestiya Sredne-Aziatskogo komiteta po delam muzeev I okhrani
pamyatnikov starini, iskustva I prirodi (Tashkent: Vipusk tretiy, 1928), pp. 223–241, at p. 229.

7
KHACHIK GEVORGYAN

There are some crucial differences between the Sufi futuwwat-nāmas and those
of craftsmen and warriors. In addition to classifying these texts according to an
origin with a particular group, i.e. Sufis, craftsmen and warriors, a chronological
and stylistic division is also possible. It is evident from the Sufi futuwwat-nāma list
above that the main Sufi futuwwat-nāmas were composed up until the sixteenth
century. Interestingly, the main bulk of craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas were written
after the seventeenth century, mainly during the Qājār period. Thus the
chronological division of Persian futuwwat-nāmas fully corresponds to a
classification that pertains to a particular group.
The main craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas published in Persian are:
Futuwwat-nāma-yi chit-sāzān22 (calico-printers).
Risāla-yi namad-māli (felt makers).
Risāla-yi khabbāzān (bakers).
Risāla-yi karbās bāftan va sang va tarazū (the weaving of coarse cotton cloth and weights
and balance).
Risāla-yi qassābān va sallākhān (the butchers and skinners).
__
Risāla-yi hammāmiyān va salmānı̄yān (bath-attendants and barbers).
Risāla-yi dı̄gar az sinf-i salmāniyān (barbers).
_
Risāla-yi dı̄gar az rasā’il-i sinf-i salmānı̄ va hammāmı̄ (barbers and bath-attendants).
_
Risāla-yi gulābı̄yān (salmānı̄yān) (rosewater masseurs).
Risāla-yi salmānı̄yān va sar-tarāshān (barbers and hair-cutters).23
Futuwwat-nāma-yi qassāb (butchers).
__
Futuwwat-nāma-yi kafsh-dūzān (cobblers).
Futuwwat-nāma-yi kafsh-dūzān (2) (cobblers).
Futuwwat-nāma-yi tabbākhān (cooks).
_
Futuwwat-nāma-yi salmānı̄yān (barbers).
Futuwwat-nāma-yi dallākān (rubber, masseur).
Futuwwat-nāma-yi hajjāmān (kiswatnāma-yi hajjāmān) (cuppers).24
_ _
Futuwwat-nāma-yi saqqāyān (water carriers).25
Futuwwat-nāma-yi bannāyān (masons).26

There are, to my knowledge, only two futuwwat-nāmas which, according to the

proposed classification, fit within the group of warriors’ futuwwat-nāmas, written
for or by sayfı̄s:
Risāla-yi shātı̄rān (messengers).27
_
Futuwwat-nāma-yi sipāhgarān (warriors).28

22
Sarrāf, op. cit., pp. 225– 240.
23 _
All these texts are published in Afshārı̄, Chahārdah risāla. The translations of crafts’ names are listed
according to Willem Floor’s translation, in his book review on Fotovvat va asnaf – Chahardah Resaleh dar bab-e
Fotovvat va Asnaf, published in Iranian Studies, 37(2) (2004), pp. 366 –368.
24
All these texts are published in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-ha va rasā’il-i khāksāriya.
25
Iraj Afshār, ‘Futuwwat-nāma-yi saqqāyān’, in Nāmvarā-yi duktur Muhammad Afshār (Tehran: jild-i haftum,
_
1372), pp. 3887–3894.
26
‘Ali Akbar Khānmuhammadı̄, ‘Futuwwat-nāma-yi bannāyān’, Sofe, 2/5, (Tehran 1371/1992), Danišgāh-i
_ _
Šāhid Behešti, pp. 10–15.
27
Afshārı̄, Chahārdah risāla, pp. 119–137.
28
M. Afshārı̄, ‘Futuwwat-nāma-yi sipāhgarān’, in Yād-i Bahār, Yādnāma-yi Duktur Mihrdād Bahār (Tehran:
Intishārāt-i Āgāh, 1376/1997), pp. 85 –89.

8
 FUTUWWA VARIETIES AND THE FUTUWWAT-NĀMA LITERATURE

The Futuwwa Literature

The Sufi futuwwat-nāmas provide a deep analysis of futuwwa doctrine, regarding
it as a part of Sufism, and a stage—indeed the highest one—on one’s way to the
Divine Truth. Suhrawardı̄ writes: ‘Some of the shaykhs say that the tarı̄qat is
_
the essence of sharı̄’at, the haqı̄qat is the essence of tarı̄qat and the futuwwa is the
_ _
essence of haqı̄qat’.29 The seeker of futuwwa ought to follow particular canons,
_
the knowledge of which was mandatory. These canons mostly correspond to the
main Sufi virtues, i.e. modesty, generosity, piety, moderateness, forbearance and
so on. In these futuwwat-nāmas, starting from Sulamı̄’s Kitāb al-Futuwwa, the
linkage of the hereditary transmission of futuwwa is given. In order to demonstrate
futuwwat’s legitimate right to co-exist with sharı̄‘a, the authors of these treatises
invented pedigrees, according to which the ideas of chivalry commence with
Adam and end with the prophet Muhammad and ‘Alı̄.
_
The craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas differ from those of Sufis in that they mainly
contain information on their rituals and etiquette, hardly ever touching upon
doctrinal problems, being thus instructive guides for the followers of a particular
guild. The main incentive for writing such futuwwat-nāmas was the contempt that
existed with regard to particular crafts, which probably comes from
Zoroastrianism, according to which the separated parts of body—like the nails,
hair, teeth and blood—were considered unclean and were called hidr or nasā and
the people who had to touch them were disregarded in society.30 In this case it is
interesting to note that in some of the Sufi futuwwat-nāmas the people who cared
for the hygiene of their clients in the bath houses were not worthy enough to be
accepted in futuwwa, just as in the verse futuwwat-nāma by the fourteenth-century
author Nāsirı̄:
Mard-i dallāk ar ke bāšad bā karam
Chun nahad dar sahn-i garmāba qadam
_ _
Nazd-i ū gabr u musalmān har daw yik
Khuy-i ū rā kufr u imān har daw yik
‘Ayb-i mardum āwarad dar pish-i rū
Dar futuwwa nı̄st in rāh nı̄kū.31
However much a barber may be an honourable man
After [he] steps into the basin
For him Muslims and Zoroastrians are the same
For his nature, belief and unbelief are the same
He brings up the vices of people
In futuwwat this is not a good way.
The same author also considers butchers unworthy of futuwwa. The main reason
for this is that they deal with a lot of blood:
Kār-e qassābān buwad khūn rı̄khtan
__
Har nafs bā jānwar āmı̄khtan
29
‘Futuwwat-nāma-yi dı̄garı̄ az ‘Umar Suhravardı̄’, in Sarrāf, Rasā’ı̄l-i javānmardān, pp. 105–106.
30 _
Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va rasā’il-i khāksāriya, p. 73. Of course these particular canons are also preserved
in Islamic purity laws.
31
Abdālbāqi Golpinārli, Futuwwa dar kešwarhā-yi islāmı̄ va mākhiz-e ān, hamrāh bā futuwwat-nāma-yi
manzūm-i Nāsirı̄ (Tehran: Ruzane, 1379/2000), pp. 157 –197, at p. 162.
_ _

9
KHACHIK GEVORGYAN

Jānwar rā mikushad u zār zār

Bā futuwwat inchinı̄n kas rā chih kār?32

The work of the butchers is shedding blood

Mixing every soul with animals

He kills the animal in parts!

What does a person like this have to do with futuwwat?!
So the main corpus of craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas was composed in order to
prove the right of ‘disenfranchised’ craftsmen to exist alongside and within the
futuwwa tradition as mentioned by Zarkūb Tabrı̄zı̄, whose term futuwwat-i qawlı̄
most probably included those crafts that were excluded by others.
The craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas also introduced the hereditary transmission of
crafts, starting from Adam, Abraham, etc., in order to raise the authority of the
particular craft. To this end, they often linked their crafts to ‘Alı̄ ibn Abı̄ Tālib,
_
Adam, Abraham, etc. Here the rituals and the etiquette of futuwwa are presented as
knowledge which pertains only to shaykhs. These kinds of futuwwat-nāmas are
written as instructive manuals in the form of question– answer (‘If they ask . . . ,
answer that . . . ’). This style of writing, available in Islamic theological disputation
and also preserved in some Sufi futuwwat-nāmas, had particular aims, and in later
times was mainly presented in craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas of Khāksār dervishes,
and until recently has never been subject to scholarly research.33
Mihrān Afshārı̄ has shown that the Khāksār and Qalandar dervishes are to be
considered adherents of futuwwa ideology as well, when taking into consideration
the similarities in ideological statements and the hereditary linkage of their
followers. He suggests that the Malāmatı̄ya separated from the mainstream Sufi
tradition under the influence of futuwwa. The Bektashis and Khāksārs, who are the
contemporary successors to the Qalandars, broke apart from futuwwa under the
influence of Sufism. Therefore, the Malāmatı̄s might be called Jawānmard-Sufis,
and the qalandars/khāksārs Sufi-Jawānmards.34
The connection of Khāksārs with futuwwa can be proven also by their
contribution to the craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas, which were mainly written by the
so-called ‘Ajam dervish order, which was an offshoot of the Khāksārs, and whose
main occupation was telling folk stories and epic poems in the so-called qahwa-
khānah (coffee houses). According to Khāksār treatises,35 the order of ‘Ajam
dervishes consisted of 17 craft guilds, whose symbolic flags were hung on the
walls of qahwakhānas during their performances, which were held in the month of
Ramadan to attract the ordinary people by performing different scenes from the
life of Shı̄‘a martyrs.36 According to a legend preserved in Husayn-i Kurd Dāstān,
_
during the reign of one of the Safavid Shahs, several dervishes (probably followers
32
Ibid.
33
On the relations between Khāksāriya and futuwwa see Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāmaha va rasā’il-i khāksāriya;
A. Zarrı̄nkūb, Justajū dar tasawwuf-i Irān (Tehran, 1357/1978); Lloyd Ridgeon, Morals and Mysticism in
_
Persian Sufism: A History of Sufi-futuwwat in Iran (Abingdon: Routledge, 2010), pp. 148– 154.
34
Afshāri, Futuwwat nāmahā va Rasā’il-i Khāksāriya, p. xxxvi of introduction (in footnotes).
35
The treatise called Wasilat al-Najāt tells about all the 70 crafts which were known to be common among the
followers of the ‘Ajam order (see Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va Rasā’il-e Khāksāriya, pp. 231 –294).
36
For more on this see M. Mahūb, ‘Sukhanwarı̄’, in Adabiyāt-e ‘amiyana-yi Irān (Tehran: jild-i duvvum,
_
1381/2003), pp. 1052–1078.

10
 FUTUWWA VARIETIES AND THE FUTUWWAT-NĀMA LITERATURE

of the Khāksār order) came to the Shah’s palace, asking him to give them an
opportunity to propagate Shı̄‘a Islam in Isfahan. On receiving the Shah’s
permission, four of these dervishes entered the four gates of Isfahan, praising and
glorifying the Shı̄‘a martyrs. One of the butchers, himself already a Shı̄‘ite, gave
them all his income, for which he was slaughtered by his colleagues who were
against Shı̄‘ism, thus becoming the first martyr who gave his life for the Shı̄‘a
faith. This is probably why the guilds became members of the ‘Ajam order, and as
a result the members of this order were mostly craftsmen. The storytellers’
organisations in Iran in the Safavid and Qājār periods mainly consisted of these
‘Ajam, also known as sukhanwar. During their performances, these sukhanwars,
being Shı̄‘ites, often had to answer questions asked by their opponents—adherents
of Sunni Islam and other confessions—proving in their answers the truth of their
faith, and linking the origin of their guild to the prophets. These questions and
answers were recorded in their futuwwat-nāmas, which is why these have the
structure of dialogue. For example: ‘If they ask what is the meaning of tanūra
(a cloth used by bath attendants) and how it functions, answer that the tanūra tied
by Adam was from a leaf of fig-tree, the tanūra tied by Ibrāhı̄m was made from
flax yarn and the tanūra of Salmān was made from felt’.37 Such treatises, I suggest,
had two functions: to raise the authority of their craft, and to serve as handbooks
during the performances of the ‘Ajam dervishes.
Nearly all craftsmen’s futuwwat-nāmas start with the same chapter on the
mythical history of their craft, presenting it as a divine gift given to Adam,
Abraham, Muhammad or ‘Alı̄, etc. According to two similar butchers’ futuwwat-
nāmas,38 this guild originated with the divine order to the angel Jibrā’ı̄l to bring 99
sheep from the meadows of paradise and slaughter them for Adam, who was tired
of doing hard agricultural work39 for centuries after being expelled from paradise.
It was from the 1001 drops of the blood of the green ram among the
aforementioned sheep sacrificed by Jibrā’ı̄l, Michael, Isrāfı̄l and Isrā’ı̄i for Adam
that the 1001 epithets of God appeared. Then God created 70,000 sheep and
bestowed them upon Adam. From this meat Jibrā’ı̄l cooked the first soup of the
world, the halı̄m. It is also stressed that one of the epithets of the God is Halı̄m.
_ _
By this game of words the authors of the treatises have also tried to raise the
authority of the main food of this particular craft—halı̄m.
_
As mentioned above, one of the main reasons the butchers were condemned and
thus were not worthy of the status of futuwwa was that they shed the blood of
animals. A passage in the butchers’ futuwwat-nāma seems to provide an answer to
this condemnation and to justify their deeds. In this story the slaughtering of
animals is presented as a virtue by God’s approval. The animals—sheep, cows,
camels, etc.—together protest to God that they have received nothing from the
heavens besides a knife. God answers that they must be proud of this because
nothing can be more pleasant than to be honoured by the name of God. If the
37
Futuwwat-nāma-yi dallākān, in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va . . . , p. 93.
38
Futuwwat-nāma-yi qassāb, in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va . . . , pp. 46 –52; Risāla-yi qassābān va
__ __
sallākhān, in Afshārı̄, Chahārdah risāla, pp. 176–195.
39
The story of Adam and his children being engaged in agricultural work is also preserved in Suhrawardı̄’s short
futuwwat-nāma, where the passage states: ‘Adam taught his children a profession and trade so that they would be
engaged in pastoralism and tillage of this world. Since Adam was the deputy of the land, it was necessary to
spread out the stall (besat) of justice and he engaged [his] children in pastoralism and tillage, teaching all of them
a trade and profession, except the messenger Seth’. See translation of Suhrawardı̄’s futuwwat-nāma in Ridgeon,
‘Javanmardi’, p. 66.

11
KHACHIK GEVORGYAN

butcher does not pronounce the name of the God before the slaughter, the meat
will not be halāl for the believers. ‘I, God have forbidden the believers to eat meat
_
if it is not slaughtered under my name. I have established a rule that the butcher say
“bismillāh”, in order [for] your meat [to] be halāl’. After listening to this all the
_
animals said that if they had a thousand bodies they would all sacrifice it in the
name of God.40 To give special weight to the different stories presented in
futuwwat-nāmas, the authors sometimes also invent isnāds for them. For example,
some of the stories in the butchers’ futuwwat-nāmas were transmitted from Imam
Sādiq.
_
The same pattern of the craft’s origins is common for all other futuwwat-nāmas.
For example, in the futuwwat-nāma of cobblers, the first shoes were bestowed by
Jibrā’ı̄l to Adam, because his feet were wounded on the land after being expelled
from paradise.41 Similarly, in the futuwwat-nāma of cooks, Abraham warned the
practitioners to be aware of whatever was written in the book in order to ensure
that their product was halāl.42 And in the futuwwat-nāma of the barbers, the first
_
hair-cutter was Jibrā’ı̄l who cut Adam’s hair, which had become too long and did
not allow him to see the sunlight after his expulsion from paradise.43
It is notable that, as mentioned above (and deriving originally from Zoroastrian
belief), the biggest problem for the barbers and all other craftsmen engaged in
cosmetic matters related to their clients’ bodies was to get rid of anything that had
come from the body, so they paid particular attention to hairs. It was a rule to bury
hairs, teeth and nails as well as other remnants. According to the last three of the
12 rules for hair-cutting, the hair-cutter should not drop the hairs on the client’s
body, but should carefully gather all the hairs and bury them in a clean place.44
According to another story, when Jibrā’ı̄l cut the 12,030 hairs, only two of them
were allowed to stay on the earth in order to reach the prophet and his descendants.
All other hairs were sent to the heavens in order to be worshiped by the angels.45
It is obvious that in the futuwwat-nāmas of, for example cooks, cobblers, water
carriers and masons, a particular stress is put on the tools and rituals of the craft.
In contrast, in the futuwwat-nāmas of bath attendants and butchers, the particular
‘product’ of their activity is appraised and then comes the discussion relating to the
tools and rituals.
The third type of treatises (those of warriors, or sayfı̄ futuwwat-nāmas), presents
the garments and arms of warriors and messengers, again without touching on any
doctrinal issues. These treatises simply inform the reader that their occupation has
its origin in one of the famous warriors in Islamic and Iranian tradition. These are
‘Alı̄ for the warriors, and Bābā-yi ‘Amru for the messengers. One of the above-
mentioned sayfı̄ futuwwat-nāmas is the treatise of shātirs, who, under the Safavid
_
period, were working as spy-heralds and also as guardians for high-ranking
officials. Their futuwwat-nāma tells about the garment of shātirs, containing
_
particular prayers for each part of the garment when it was worn.
40
Risāla-yi qassābān va sallākhān, in Afshārı̄, Chahārdah risāla, p. 181.
41 __
Futuwwat-nāma-yi kafshdūzān (2), in Afshari, Futuwwat-nāmā-ha va . . . , p. 58.
42
Futuwwat-nāma-yi tabbākhān, in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va . . . , p. 64.
43 _
Futuwwat-nāma-yi salmānı̄yān, in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va . . . , p. 76.
44
Futuwwat-nāma-yi salmānı̄yān, in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va . . . , pp. 78–79.
45
Futuwwat-nāma-yi salmānı̄yān, in Afshārı̄, Futuwwat-nāma-hā va . . . , p. 76. For more on hair among Sufis,
see Lloyd Ridgeon, ‘Shaggy or Shaved? The Symbolism of Hair among Persian Qalandar Sufis’, Iran and the
Caucasus, 14 (2010), pp. 233–264.

12
 FUTUWWA VARIETIES AND THE FUTUWWAT-NĀMA LITERATURE

The second sayfı̄ futuwwat-nāma ( futuwwat-nāma-yi sipāhgarān), as indicated

in the first passage, was to serve as a talisman for warriors. It contains some
prayers, which were to help him to survive in the battlefield. It is interesting to note
that despite the very small number of warriors’ futuwwat-nāmas, these epistles
must be scrutinised more carefully, comparing them with Persian narrative folk
tales (dāstāns). In both types of literature the overall nature of Persian warriors is
given, whereas the futuwwat-nāmas present their religious duties and the dāstāns
pay attention mostly to their physical and intellectual abilities.
This article demonstrates a new methodological approach, which, I hope, can
serve as a basis for further study of futuwwat nāmas as a separate genre. In the
future I plan to apply this approach to the study of Arabic and Turkish variations of
futuwwa and futuwwat-nāmas (kitāb al-futuwwa, fütüvvetnamah).

13
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