Born in Tire, ʿAbdü’l-mecīd b. Firişte
is an important figure in the dissemination of Hurufi teachings in both Anatolia and
Rumelia, due to his Turkish translations of the works of Fażlallāh Astarābādī (d. 796/1394)
, the founder of the Hurufi sect. His initiation to the Hurufiyya probably took place
after
Astarābādī’s execution in 796 AH [1394 CE]. In his
work the Saʿādet-nāme, he reveals his genealogy, which
ties him to
Astarābādī via the latter’s disciple Shams al-dīn Muḥaqqiq and his disciple Bāyezīd, who is
Firişteoġlı’s spiritual director.
Firişteoġlı’s brother ʿAbdü’l-laṭīf b. Firişte (İbn-i Melek) (d. after 821/1418)
is also a prolific author, famous for his dictionary known as the
Luġat-ı Firişteoġlı, often confused with his brother ʿAbdü’l-mecīd’s
dictionary the Luġat-ı Ḳānūn-ı İlāhī. Their father’s name
is ʿAbdü’l-ʿazīz.
Firişteoġlı states that he completed this work in
Rebīʿü’l-evvel 838, composed upon the request of his friends in order to explain Hurufi doctrines.
According to
Özer Şenödeyici, this is not the translation of a work by Fażlallāh Astarābādī (d. 796/1394)
. Yet Firişteoġlı was obviously inspired by Astarābādī's works when he composed
the Hidāyet-nāme.
In his muqaddima, Firişteoġlı states that he has translated the work from Arabic into Turkish.
The work differs from his other works in that it is not about the Hurufiyya.
Firişteoġlı notes that this work completed in Ṣafer 826
consists of the translations of chapters from Fażlallāh Astarābādī (d. 796/1394)
works named the Cāvidān-nāme, the ʿArş-nāme and the Muḥabbet-nāme.
It is on the principles of Hurufism. The work is also important in that it includes Firişteoġlı’s
genealogy connecting him to Astarābādī.
The Ḫᵛāb-nāme is the common name for two different
works containing the dream interpretations of Fażlallāh Astarābādī (d. 796/1394)
. This work by Firişteoġlı is a translation of Seyyid İsḥāḳ's
ḫᵛāb-nāme.
This is mainly an abridged translation of the Persian work the
Cāvidān-nāme by Fażlallāh Astarābādī (d. 796/1394), but Firişteoġlı
also made use of Astarābādī's other works such as the Muḥabbet-nāme. It is considered as his most important work. Completed
in Şevvāl 833, the work explains the principles
of the Hurufiyya.
