He is a dervish whose birth and death date is not certainly known. He lived near Sivas. He is a Shiite and Kizilbas. It is said that he was arrested and imprisoned and executed since he attempted to rise Kizilbas' in an epic by his daughter. In one of his poems, he says that years bent him double, and his teeth dropped, which shows he lived for a long time. The real name of Pir Sultan, whose ancestors originated from Yemen, is Haydar. Alaoites, that is those preferring Ali to Mohammad, generally link their ancestors to him. It is obvious from his titles that Pir Sultan went beyond the levels of Bektaşis: He sat on the "skin" since he was one of the oldest people of the sect, and deserved the title of "saint" and "Grandfather Sultan".
As to being an Abdal, Bektaşis called forty notables whom they thought to have come from "Bedil", that is spiritual world to the earth and walked around in different clothes. Those were elected among three hundred saints, that is, holy persons. The identity of those people were known by only themselves. Seven of those forty Abdals were called "Erkan (Posts)", and three of them were called "Evtad", that is Connectives. One of them was called "kutup"(pole).
Pir Sultan was among those forty. Although Bektaşis comprise a sect, Kizilbas organization is not the same. It is among the duties of Kizilbas to give necessary order to the world by means of actions and politics. Therefore, Pir Sultan took actions and was arrested and hanged by Hızır Pasha in Sivas. Poems beginning with the quatrain that:
Yürü bre Hızır Paşa
Senin de çarkın kırılır
Güvendiğin padişahın
Ola ki bir gün devrilir
explain the problems between Pir Sultan Abdal and Hızır Pasha.
Like most of the saints, epic elements estranged his life to an atmosphere of a myth. Rumors that he comes from Ali and Mohammad, Hizir Pasha's coming and wanting divine assistance, Pir Sultan's saying "Hizir, you are going to be a vizier one day, but look for me again" and foreseeing his future are all elements of such epic.
The rumor has it that his being hanged is because of Hizir Pasha's saying "Tell me three poems in which there is no word of Shah's name", however his telling poems praising Iran Shah from first to last.
Pir Sultan Abdal wrote not only dervish poems but also love poems. An example is:
Ben de şu dünyaya geldim geleli
Emanetten bir don giymişe döndüm
Sahibi çıktı da elimden aldı
Koru yerde koyun yaymışa döndüm
O yâr geldi geçti geri bakmadı
Hendekler kazdırdım sular akmadı
Çok yuva bekledim cücük çıkmadı
Boş yuva beklemiş yoz kuşa döndüm
Pir Sultan Abdal'ım bu dünya fâni
Baştan başa kim sürdü bu devranı
Yarin bir çift sözü üşüttü beni
Yüce dağ başında buymuşa döndüm
Öt benim sarı tamburam
Senin aslın ağaçtandır
We learn most of the information about Pir Sultan Abdal from his daughter Sanem Hatun. The following lament which was orally reported until now express how he was killed at the gallows in a touching style:
Uzundu, usuldü dedemin boyu
Yıldız'dır yaylası Banaz'dır köyü
Yaz bahar ayında bulanır suyu
Sular çağlar çağlar Pir Sultan deyu
Pir Sultan kızıydım ben de Banaz'da
Kanlı yaş akıttım baharda güzde
Dedemi astılar kanlı Sivas'ta
Darağacı ağlar ağlar Pir Sultan deyu