MYSTICISM STUDIES
Year:2008 | Volume:- | Issue:6|Papers Count:8

If we consider Hosseyn ibn Mansour Hallāj as the founder of the theory of defending Satan, no doubt, 'Eyn al-Qozāt Harnadāni will be the 'unique interpreter and developer of this theory. He owes to Hallāj for the bases of this theory, but he presents such a new and innovative explanation of Satan's banishment and damnation that makes him one of the greatest defenders and adorers of Satan. Relying on Hamadani's views, this article deals with a general view of Satan in Hamadani's works and an explanation of his principles for defending this banished rebel. In hamadani's works, Satan has a dual feature; one is the feature of a deceiving tempter of human beings. The other is the feature drawn during his adoring and defending of Satan. From his viewpoint, Satan is an experienced lover who rebelled against the beloved's order to show his perfection and to prove to the world that he and only he was aware of God's true will in this order which was the rebel of His thousand-year old lover from prostrating other than Him.

According to the view of the famous mystic of the seventh century, 'Attar, in spiritual wayfaring not only the interior but also exterior or the body is transformed and put in an evolutional route. Discussing the spiritual perfection of a mystic he talks about the transcendence of body in his famous works such as Asrarnamah, Elāhināmah, and Mosibatnāmah. In Asrarnamah, he says that when a mystic fights his soul and causes it to reach the state of annihilation, not only the spirit but also the body will become pure, enlightened and illuminated so that the body goes beyond the border of matter. He, then, refers to the purity of the Prophet's body and says that it owns the characteristics of a spirit; that is why it has the capability of ascension and for this reason the Prophet ascended the heaven with his body in the night of ascension. One should know that bodily ascension is a divine miracle that belongs to the great divine prophets only and its secret is hidden from humans. The purpose of the writer in this article is to show that regarding' Attar's discussion, spirit joins the source of absolute perfection by austerity and fighting the body. In this evolutional process the body also changes and takes the characters of a spirit. Of course this is something relative and of degrees and relates to God's will.

One of the characteristics of the language of mysticism, like that of poetry and art, is its imagery and analogy. Evidently there is also al close relationship between mysticism and myth. It is on the basis of these two facts that the writer of this article following a brief report on the allegorical language of mysticism examines the relationship between mysticism and myth by investigating the poetmystics' use of one of the mythological stories, that is, the story of Zāl and Roodabeh, especially when the latter let her long plaits fall down like a rope so that Zāl who was kept outside of the castle behind closed gates could climb up to her chamber. By giving some other examples the researcher has attempted to show that the poet-mystics have used the story of the plait as a symbol of the mercy and grace of God Who always comes to the aid of His servants and also an emblem of all the ways and methods, such as attraction and love, religion and dogma, and repentance, which God out of His compassion and kindness shows to all or some of His servants. At the end of this paper the writer makesa comparative study of three other tales, namely the Persian story of the Daughter of Naranj and Turanj, the story oLRapunzel and finally the Arabic story of Cutting the plait of Rabiiah.

Hāfez, the great Persian poet, uses numerous terms in his poems which contain paradoxical meanings. The study of paradox in mystical and lyrical poems helps us to have a new and better understanding and interpretation of texts. The elements of the paradoxical terms occur in these subjects: God, religion and faith, religious rules, acts, beliefs and duties, Sufi beliefs and conducts, and persons and characters. There are many paradoxical terms in the poems of Hafez such as wine, vinosity, tavern, intoxication, cup, monastery, mosque, paradise, pious, canonist, Sufi coarse woollen garment, wise, wisdom, love, nightingale, beloved, eye(brow), face, lips, etc.

Speeches, deeds, works, and stories of God's messengers among the people of different religions are subject matters which most of literary texts of the world have dealt with. In this regard, Persian literary texts have a special position, and it may be said that they are unique. One of the early Persian mystics whose thoughts and views need to be considered deeply is 'Eyn al-Qozāt Hamadani. In his book, Tamhidāt, one cannot find any page or paragraph that has no mention of the Prophet's speeches or deeds. In this article, while studying the attitudes and characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad in all of Hamadāni's works and his relation to the Prophet, the writers try to present, in particular, a picture of the Prophet in Tamhidat which is rarely done in mystical texts and is neglected by the specialists of 'Eyn al-Qozāt. He distinguishes between the state of "being" and two states of "seeing" and "having". In a comparison, he assimilates Moses' position to "seeing", Abraham's to "having", and Muhammad's to "being".

For a long time dealing with man's inner part and analysing his states and spiritual matters has been the concern of some scholars, psychologists and literary men.During the last centuries, some of these authorities were born in Germany, including Kant, Hegel, Niche, Rilka, Holderline, Hedger and Hese. Hese is among those religious scholars who study man and his spiritual states and inner conflicts in his works with an approach similar to that of existentialist philosophers. Since some parts of his life and studies are related to the eastern culture, some of his most serious works such as a Journey to the East and Sitharta are the result of the connection between eastern culture especially Indian and European culture. In this article an attempt has been made to introduce this scholar briefly and analyze one of his short stories.

One of the basic religious characteristics of the ninth century is the propagation of shiism and the public inclination of people towards it. The Teymoori policy of religious freedom which was the continuation of Mongol's policy provided a setting for a clash of opinions. In this developed exceedingly, and the preliminary steps for the formation of peace made available after Teymoori' s victories and his respect for the great Sufis caused the formation and flourish of monasteries and Sufi centres. The great Sufis in this period were either shi'ites themselves and founded their works on shi'ite teachings or if they were Sunnis they were less fanatic and inclined to shi'ism. Also, the shi'ite feature the movement of imam Hosein in Karbala founded several Sufi movements against injustice and, the corruption of the society. So kings and rulers who were aware of this hidden power tried to tolerate and treat grat Sufis with caution.