Mytho-Mystic Literature
Year:2010 | Volume:6 | Issue:20|Papers Count:7

Divine Comedy composed by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is considered to be the greatest literary work in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. On the surface the book describes Dante's journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise but at a deeper level it allegorically represents the soul's journey towards God.It has been said that The Book of Arda Viraf, The Epistle of Forgiveness (Risalat al-ghufran by Abul Ala Maarri), The Gospel and Iliad of Homer had left impression on Dante.Also, Sana'i Ghaznavi (died around 1131), Persian Sufi poet, in his work, “Seir Al Ibad Ila Al Ma’ad”, speaks about spiritual journey and the world of Divinity. The present article, by studying the similarities and differences between the two works, tries to discover if Seir Al Ibad Ila Al Ma’ad is the forerunner of Divine Comedy.

Sana'i Ghaznavi (died around 1131), Persian Sufi poet, in his best known work, Hadiqa Tu'l Haqiqat (The Walled Garden of Truth) asks a sage master about his native country, and the sage master replies that he has come from the "City of God". The City of God refers to the world of immaterial bodies, the world of Forms and Utopia.The present article, by studying the concept of the "City of God" in Hadiqa Tu'l Haqiqat, tries to show the influence of Sana'i's ideas on Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (1155–1191).

According to Carl Gustav Jung, the archetypes appear in the collective unconscious through the symbols. The archetype of sun, symbol of power and beauty, has striking presence in Persian poetry. The present article, by studying the poems of Khaghani and Nezami, tries to show that the archetype of sun is rooted in the collective unconscious of these poets.

According to Ayn-al-Quzat Hamedani (1098–1131), the Islamic mystic, God emanates knowledge to the heart of the mystic. But the "acquired knowledge", like physics, mathematics and theology is necessary for this divine knowledge. He explains that the relationship between reason and meta-reason is like the relationship between the body and the soul. As the body without the soul begins to decline, the reason of non-mystics without the meta-reason, the divine knowledge, corrupts. Ayn-al-Quzat distinguishs between the heart and the soul and believes that the heart is Divine Throne, and the man who knows his heart, knows the Lord.

According to Islamic mysticism, some saintly men are endowed with miraculous powers (karamat, karamat [pl]), that allow them to miraculously go far away from one place to another, or to wield authority over animals, plants, clouds, and etc.Many karamat have been reported by Ubaidullah Ahrar (1404-1490), sheikh of the Naghshbandi Order. Inflicting pain on people was his special power.By considering the doctrine of Naghshbandiyyeh and the social, economical and cultural conditions of that age, the present article tries to study the karamat of Ubaidullah Ahrar.

According to Islamic mysticism the prophet Muhammad is the mediator between the Creator and the created, the perfect man, the first Intellect, the Pole of the Poles (Ghotb al aghtab) and this is the reality of the Prophet (Haghighat Muhammadiyyah). He is the reality of the entire created world and human beings in the actual world are subject to the Reality insofar as they transformed from virtuality into actuality in accordance with their predetermined forms in the Haghighat Muhammadiyyah. Also, he is the first form through which the Absolute manifested itself.The present article, along with considering Anis al-Arefin, tries to analyze the concept of Haghighat Muhammadiyyah.

By studying the concept of lie in the Gathas, Avesta and the Bistun inscription, the present article considers the evolution of this concept in ancient Persia, the Achaemenian period, and its relation with political structures of that period. The present article tries to show that in ancient Persian civilization, the concept of lie is not only the central topic of ethics but it also plays a role in political arena.