“Whoever places the hand of good actions in the circle of chivalry”: a homily in the jawānmardī mystical tradition

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This month’s document, Firuzkuh 3, is a well-preserved folio discovered in the Firuzkuh area of Ghur, Afghanistan, together with about 100 other Firuzkuh Papers. This very short text in elegant rhymed prose appears to be a homily produced by one of the local mystical circles (Figures 1 and 2). Although such texts are conventionally described as “Sufi,” using the term Sufism inclusively, there is reason to make a distinction for this particular homily. After all, it begins with the words (recto, lines 1–2): “Whoever places the hand of good actions in the circle of chivalry” (har ki dast-i nīkūkārī dar ḥalqa-yi jawānmardī zad), specifically mentioning the name for the jawānmardī tradition of mystical chivalry, which was independent of the Sufi tradition in origin at least.1 Furthermore, this initial statement emphasizes “good actions” (nīkūkārī), which are prioritised in that tradition ahead of mystical theory.

Authors: Mojaddedi, J

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Invisible East
• Series: Document of the Month
• Series number: 17
• Place of publication: Oxford
• Publication date: 2026-03-30
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-z6dn98awx
• Language: English
• Keywords: jawānmardī; documents; Firzukuh Papers; Invisible East
• Subtype: Blog