For the Sufi acolyte, the presence of a master, often referred to as “the Friend” (also a reference for God), is a necessity. Thus far, what this book has tried to demonstrate regarding this theme is the importance of such relationships throughout the history of Iranian religion. That is to say, that the transference of religious knowledge, especially of a mystical or gnostic nature, depends upon a close bond between two or more initiated individuals. This can also occur when personalities of the past are looked upon by adherents as teachers of sacred knowledge. I do not mean to propose a perennial theory here, but rather observe the landscape of Iranian religion and the major thematic monuments along its route from pre-Islamic to Islamic Iran. Thus Pagan Mithra worship (Anahita), Zarathushtra (Mazda), Mazdak (Zoroastrian gnosis), the ghulat (neo-Mazdakites) and now moving into the Islamic era are highlighted as important platforms in the landscape of Iranian identity.

Enter Salman the Persian, at times made synonymous with Gabriel, and thus emerging as the legendary figure responsible for the direct pollination of ideas and practices from Iran to Arabia. Like Mazdak, Salman is another generally overlooked figure who bridges the historical gap between two periods (that of the Persian and Arab). Importantly, he is not only a missing puzzle of Persia's hidden past, crucial for our work on the macrohisotry of Iranian religion, but also ills in links between Mazdak and Mohammed.