MYSTICISM STUDIES
Year:2006 | Volume:- | Issue:3|Papers Count:11

Ibn Karram Sistani Neyshaburi (d.255A.H) was the leader of Karramians whose works were destroyed by his enemies. All what has been said about him by the scholars of religions and beliefs is false and wrong accusation. A prominent work on the mystical ‘abd al-Wahhab Hanafi Commentary of the Holy Quran. ‘Abd al-Wahhab Hanafi’s Alfusool, includes some of his speeches. In this paper, his words have been extracted from the British Museum copy of the book, showing him to be great sufi and great sophasticated thinker and scholar.The paper also refutes all that has been said against him in Milal-wa-Nihal books.

The logic of conversation is based on: the speaker, the hearer (you) and the referent (He). It can take three forms: 1. The speaker talks to the listener about the referent; 2. The speaker talks about the listener to the listener; 3. The speaker talks about himself to the listener. The present paper elaborates on these issues and explains how this logic changes in mystical lyrics. The most prominent form of this change in lyrics is when the poet himself becomes the addressee, therefore the indirect addressee or listener cannot properly find out the position of the speaker and this type of the poem needs to the interpreted. In this kind (type) of conversation, while the poet is the very speaker but internally he is the direct hearer and narrator of another man who can be named paraself.Here I (the speaker) unconsciously conveys the silent speech of para-I and though it seems that I (the speaker) is silent and noiseless but truly speaking to the reader.Based on such point three steps of the mystical journey is explainable.

The first book among early mystical texts to discuss mystical sects is Hujwiri’s kashf al-Mahjoob. This work was created in the fifth century (A.H). Hujwiri (b. Circa 470A.H.) classifies sufis into twelve sects in one part of his work and explains their basic beliefs. The question raised by some readers of this text is whether this sect existed all at that time. The present paper attempts to explore past sufi sects to help answer this question.

Mewlana Jalal al-Din Rumi is one of the most exuberant scholars of Iran. He has raised the Persian mystical literature to its peaks. His poems have always deeply fascinated the beart-burnt people of the world. His most magnificent piece of poetry in Mathnawi starts with what the reed has to say. He views the reed as a manifestation of himself and all other hurt people.He has selected the reed from so many musical instruments to show how the piper gives life to it and how similarly he takes his life from Shams Tabrizi. The whole long story of Mathnawi is the groan of the reed, making it massively figurative and associative rather than merely didactic and conceptual.The present paper elaborates on these issues.

I am thinking of rhymes, and my sweet heart says to me ‘’Do not think of naught except vision of me.’’ Mewlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, then Rumi, has conquered the hearts of people all over the world with his poem, which he sometimes refers to as ‘’thinking of rhymes’’.Some people think that if Mewlana expresses dissatisfaction with rhymes and rhythms it is because he thinks they are not essential for the writing of poetry, while all scholars of the field, until quite recently, have emphasized the significance of these two basic elements of poetry.The purpose of this article is to show that Mewlana has in reality attached great importance to rhymes and rhythms, as revealed in all his great works. His deep knowledge and exposure to the vast literature of Arabic and Persian literature had influenced him so much so that he spontaneously produced thousands of excellent lines of poetry all with varied rhymes and rhythms.

The issues of immortality and Khazir and Alexander have been widely referred to in literary, historical and mystical texts. Much has been said about them as myths or true stories. This paper reviews the history of the issue of the substance of life as the secret of immortality in the mythology of Iran, Mesopetamia, and Egypt. It also reviews the stories of Khazir and Alexander to uncover their origination.Their stories are also compared to other mythological figures in the Holy Book like Gilgamesh epic. Commentaries on these myths are also analyzed.Khazir as a saviour and a guide in mystical prose and poetry is also discussed.

One of the most controversial issues for the followers of great religions has been the scope of man’s determinism and choice with regard to the will of God, the creator of the universe. The Islamic sects of Mu‘tazilites, Zeydies, Ismailites, Imamites, Maturidites, Asha‘rites, and Jabrites have assumed the most and the least amount of determinism for mans respectively.In the light of Hakim Sanayi of Ghazna poems, this paper attempts to show that despite common beliefs, his ideas are in line with Maturidites and Imamites Shi‘ism and very much different from those of Ash‘arites and Mu‘tazilites.

Yoosuf-Name the interpretation of Yoosuf surah in the holy Quran is the work of the great 9th century poet, Pir Jamali Ardestani. This work is a combination of prose and poetry. In his interpretation of this surah, Jamali explains Zuleykha’s (Rachel’s) burning love for Joseph (the son of Jacob) in the light of mystical beliefs. He also points to the majesty of the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h) and shows the significance of the Islam’s law over others laws. In his work, Jamali seems to have been influenced by Ibn Arabie’s Theory of pantheism.This paper discusses Jamali’s views about the holy Prophet and compares his ideas with those of ibn Arabi and some other sufis in works like Fusoos al- Hikam and Futoohat Al-Makiyya.

Voyeurism is a mystical term. Its literal meaning is very much different from its mystical one. For ordinary people, it signifies gazing at women which is a negative sensual behavior. Sufis have borrowed this term and given it new figurative meaning. The most common figurative meaning associated with this term in Sufism, which is also related to its literal meaning is seeing God through his creatures and signs specially handsome youth. The other meaning is that the Soofi through a mystical experience sees God or angels in the face of beautiful people in his imagination. The present paper elaborates on five mystical meaning of the term and how it transformed from an immoral and negative sense (concept) to a mystical and positive one.