MYSTICISM STUDIES
Year:2017 | Volume:- | Issue:25 |Papers Count:7

The story of the creation of Adam is one of the most important issues in the Bible, the Qur'an, and the Islamic Hadiths. Following these sources, Muslim theosophists have generated extensive discussion about this story, examined the events before Blowing the Soul, and explained the details of creation. Early theosophists have used ascetic Sufism to deal with this issue in accordance with the Quranic verses, but some later theosophists have distanced themselves from the Quranic aspect of the discussion and have expressed their own ideas in form of a fictional story. Examining Sufism prose texts of the 5th-7th centuries, the present study aims to show this mystical story is deeply rooted in Isra'iliyyat, but Iranian theosophists have used it a means of expressing mystical issues such as Allah’ s love and divine trust, Light of the Prophet of Islam or (Noor-e-Muhammadi), the soil importance, humility and his closeness to the Almighty God, God’ s exclusive love of some people, etc.

The present study aimed to define the art of Khā nqā h from the seventh century to the present time and describe the special art of Khā nqā h architecture which has been influenced by pure mystical and Sufi thoughts. The data were collected from Khā nqā h monuments (Sufi Gathering Places) and tombs, historical Khā nqā h Mustahsanats (Practices in Khā nqā h), and classification of their symbolism from the viewpoint of religious traditionalism. Through historical examination and categorization of the observed symbolic elements as well as considering the religious ‘ traditionalism’ as a criterion, a certain type of Khā nqā h architecture was found in all reported buildings, which has not been previously explored. In fact, direct effects of theoretical foundations and virtues of mysticism and Sufism are evident in this especial architecture. By distinguishing this style in Islamic architecture, its influence on other Islamic structures like school and mosque can be shown too. All in all, based on the field data collected in this study, most reflections of the symbolic elements in Khā nqā h architecture are related to colors, symbolic use of numbers, and mystical thoughts which are fully evident in the texture and structure of the Khā nqā hs. In addition, historical evolution of Sufism history has played an influential role in frequency of use and determination of the types of these symbolic applications.

In this article, the concepts of God, human being, and the relationship between them in the works and views of Jan Van Ruusbroeck, the great theosophist of the Catholic Church in Middle Ages, are examined in an analytical manner. Despite the belief in simplicity of the soul, Ruysbroeck also considers some of its strengths. According to him, human being is created based on the image of and similarity to God, and God has put a spiritual and eternal truth in human. In his anthropology, Ruysbroeck attempts to offer a practical way to retrieve the humans’ similarity to the God. In his theology, although he describes the essence of God with negative terms like ‘ wild desert’ and ‘ abysmal darkness’ , he emphasizes that the Divine nature in the stage of Trinity is personal. Hence, the establishment of a relationship between the human and the God is possible. As Ruysbroeck believes, the initiator of this relationship is God, and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and Divine and human aspect of Christ play a crucial role in this regard. This relationship has different degrees; more specifically, the relationship through the active works and rituals of man is the first stage while the immediate: : union: : with God in the contemplative life is the final one. The result of this relationship is not the disappearance of the distinction between the Creator and the creature but unity in love. These stages are linearly related, so even after the immediate: : union: : with God, the human must observe the Shari‛ a laws.

Misbah al-Ashari‛ at is a book with mystical and ethical themes which has been attributed to Imam Ja‛ far Sadiq. Although all chapters of the book begin with the phrase “ (as) Imam Sadiq said” which primarily indicates that the book has been written by him, the correctness of such an attribution is criticized on various grounds including the content of the book and the available certified Hadiths. A content analysis of this book, based on its comparative analysis with the works of Sufis, reveals many indications and proofs that this book is strikingly similar to them. This paper first briefly explains the reviews written on this book and then provides a descriptive summary of the most important manuscripts of the book. Finally, some evidence obtained in these manuscripts is presented to show this book is a work of Sufism. Among these indications are citing and remembering mystics and those near-stationed to Sufism, using terms unique to Sufism, and applying structures and styles specified in Sufism writings. This book has attracted the attention of the mystics and Sufis in various periods of history, leading to production of some written accounts on it. It is due to this specific Sufi literary style that some great scholars such as ‛ Allameh Majlesi attribute this book to one of the most important and well-known Sufi saints known as Shaqiq al-Balkhi. The present paper aims to study the textual properties of this book through tracing its origin and history.

Modesty is one of the significant and widely used concepts in Islamic Mysticism which is closely interrelated to important subjects such as faith, knowledge, nearness to God, and unshakable fail in God; however, theosophists have approached this concept in various ways. It has been considered as the status of people of meditation, the state of those nearest to the God and observers, and equal to faith, certainty, knowledge and the pre-requisite in the relationship between the God and the humans. Moreover, it has sometimes been recommended to avoid shame and modesty before God, which can lead to falling into an abyss of blasphemy. Considering the definitions, types, and degrees of modesty offered by the theosophists, it could be stated that modesty, based on its general and ethical meaning, is a status which theosophists, regardless of their school of thought, are bound to, emphasizing adherence to their own words and deeds. However, at the stage of divine affinity, the Gnostics have adopted different approaches toward modesty based on their mystical school and possession of beauty and glory manifestations of God; therefore, this difference is considered as the status of people nearest to God. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this study aims to provide a clear description of modesty in mystical texts and explaining the connection between this concept and other mystical one.

Abu Ali Daqaq (405 A. H. ), known as “ Master” , “ Imam of Art” , and “ Orator of Time” , was one of the most famous sufis in Nyshabour in the fourth century A. H. These epithets showed his gifts and skills in the mystical majales. According to the historical evidence and intellectual heritage, he held the most fervent meetings in Nyshabour, Marv, and cities around. With his “ explicit explication” and “ eloquent speech” , he spoke about the most significant mystical themes such as “ delicate” mode of affection that human heart is its source and treasure; courtesy in obedience and this leads human beings close to God; verity and good deeds in that human must show himself as he is; the importance of wanting and its superiority over gain and join; chivalry, magnanimity, and no hostility and enmity to others. Daqaq was an ascetic mystic who avoided popularity, and it seems his association with “ grief, sorrow, and gloom” was not unrelated with his seclusion. However, he was a disciple of Abolqā sem Nasr‛ abadi, and great men like Abolghā sem Ghoshayri and Abu Said Abu al-khayr were among his celebrated students. In this article, after reviewing Daqaq’ s life, masters, works and thoughts, we tried to refer to his major intellectual and mystical heritage for the first time using the invaluable manuscript al-Shavahed wa al-Amthā l, which includes his speeches and meetings. In spite of its great importance in the tradition of oratory and historical study of mysticism, Daqaq’ s legacy had been neglected.

In addition to the texts devoted to the interpretation of the Qur'anic verses, other texts also contain sporadic interpretations of the Qur’ anic verses, among other things, which have not been considered from this point of view so far. The examination, extraction, and analysis of these interpretations have facilitated the understanding of the writers’ both the amount and sources of Qur'anic knowledge; moreover, it is a step towards the development of the sources of interpretation, especially those of the early Persian prose writers, which is due to their close proximity with the Qur’ an's descent. Among these texts are the Persian mystical works adorned by Qur'anic verses, which are, similar to specific commentary texts of the Qur’ an, worthy of further exploration. Since the earliest of these works have come to us from the fifth century AH, this paper reviews and analyzes the quantity of interpretations in the works of the monotheistic and mystical Iranian non-interpreter (from the middle of the 6th century) by perfect inductive method. It is worth noting that during the review of the mystical texts of Persian prose in these two centuries (about thirty works), with a total of 925 verses, including the repetitive verses, this interpretation covers approximately one-seventh of the Qur'anic verses. These verses have been interpreted based on nine different methods and approaches, most of which are mystical commentaries and the least are interpreted by theological and verse-by-verse commentaries. The deductive method is a special technique for the interpretation of the Qur'an, which is widely used in some of these works. The quantity and quality of the interpretations in the present study and their proportion to each particular text are illustrated by various diagrams.