THE PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS OF HURUFISM: ON MYSTICAL LETTERISM IN ISLAMIC THOUGHT

Abstract

This paper examines the philosophical hermeneutics of Hurufism, a mystical and esoteric movement within Islamic intellectual history that originated in the 14th century through the teachings of Fazlallah Astarabadi. Rooted in a metaphysical understanding of language, Hurufism asserts that letters, particularly those of the Arabic and Persian alphabets, possess ontological significance and are imbued with divine meaning. Hurufi doctrine regards the human face, body, and scripture as mirrors of a hidden alphabetic order that reflects the structure of the universe. Through a sophisticated synthesis of numerology (abjad), phonetic analysis, and symbolic correlation, Hurufism develops an interpretive system that transcends conventional exegesis. The movement treats the Qur’an not only as a textual revelation but also as a linguistic cosmos, wherein every letter contains infinite layers of esoteric meaning. The article explores how Hurufism constructs a form of symbolic anthropology, mapping the letters onto the parts of the human body, especially the face, thus turning the human being into a microcosmic text. This embodied hermeneutics reconfigures the relationship between sign and referent, offering a radical alternative to both rationalist theology and legalistic scripturalism. By challenging the binary between the seen (ẓāhir) and the unseen (bāṭin), Hurufi thought contributes a unique and largely overlooked perspective to Islamic epistemology, cosmology, and semiotics. Ultimately, the paper argues that Hurufism should be recognized not merely as a mystical curiosity, but as a profound philosophical enterprise that integrates ontology, language, and revelation into a unified vision of sacred meaning. Specifically, the research introduces the concept of “ontological hermeneutics of the letter”, a model in which the Arabic letters (ḥurūf) are viewed as metaphysical structures that mediate divine, cosmological, and anthropological knowledge. This model reinterprets Hurufite thought as a philosophy of language and being, grounded in Qur’anic symbolism and informed by esoteric readings (taʾwīl) that operate across scriptural, corporeal, and cosmic levels. Furthermore, the study proposes the term “anthropo-cosmic hermeneutics” to describe the Hurufite view of the human body, particularly the face, as a textual site mirroring both the Qur’an and the divine order. This framework provides an innovative lens through which to read Islamic mystical epistemology and repositions Hurufism as a valuable contribution to the broader Islamic intellectual tradition.