MAAREF E AQLI
Year:2012 | Volume:7 | Issue:4 (24)|Papers Count:7

As Islamic mysticism found its way into Persian literature, some masterpieces were created. In addition to stating the spiritual and mental states of mystics, these works proved to be very effective in teaching wayfarers and purifying their souls. Having a glance at the development of literary mysticism, this article aims to show what position Mawlana occupies in this realm. With the commencement of the 4th century AH, Islamic mysticism formally made its way into Persian literature. In the 6th century AH, Sanai, for the first time, seriously made clear that he had used mystical issues in his poems through his ascetic and didactic poems appearing in the form of couplets or odes. After Sanai, it was Assar who followed its course of development through his mystical poems. Relying on these two great masters of literature, Mawlana helped this reach its climax. In addition to his other invaluable works, two of his poetic works are of special significance in literary mysticism.No doubt, Mawlana's masterpiece, Mathnawi, is taken to be the essence of all mystical poetic experiences in the world of Islam. It is also considered to be an encyclopedia of his thoughts and beliefs."Diwan-e Shams" is full of thrilling and joyful poems hardly found in any other poems. The thrills and emotions overcoming most of these poems are the main characteristics of Mawlana's poetry. His poems being simple, unsophisticated and intimate are [very real and natural] showing the real turbulences of his emotional soul.

The issue of the stages of wayfaring is one of the most important and one of the oldest issues of mysticism. Muslim mystics have termed these stages as positions, stations, states, degrees and stands, etc., coining a particular term for explaining each one of these stages. As a matter of fact, the first Islamic mystical terms are concerned with explaining these states and positions of wayfaring. It seems that this discussion is as old as [Islamic] mysticism itself.The expressions mystics have used for explaining these stages are not similar to each other. The expressions used by mystical books seem to differ both on the number of the stages of wayfaring as well as on their order. There is no consensus on the beginning of these stages nor is there any consensus over their end. Casting light on the background of these stages and explaining their meanings, the present article tries to give an account of the opinions of major mystics concerning the number, order, beginning and end of mystical positions. To the extent possible, it also shows why they differed on explaining these positions.

One of the most basic principles of monotheistic religions is the principle of prophecy which is, in turn, based on revelation. Muslim and non-Muslim thinkers differ on the nature of revelation and on whether or not it is a sort of mystical intuition obtained through the purification of soul. Regarding the fact that this issue is a matter of paramount importance and that it has raised numerous doubts, some of which are attributed even to mystics, the present paper tries to address these issues and clear up the doubts through presenting the relevant viewpoint of Ibn ‘Arabi, one of the most prominent of Muslim mystics. Thus, the present study aims to elucidate, from the perspective of mysticism, the nature of revelation and the way in which one receives it and to resolve some of the doubts that surround it.The research findings show that revelation is a divine gift that God gives to anyone whom he chooses and it is beyond the reach of mystics. Thus, it is impossible to reach it through the purification of soul or asceticism. It is God who sends revelation and this cannot be done without the will of God. The angels of Revelation do not visit anyone unless they have been ordered by the Divine to do so. The role the Prophets play in the process of receiving revelation is nothing but to display the content of Revelation. They do not add anything of their own to what they receive as revelation and every single Qur’anic term or structure is totally revealed by God. Therefore, the mentality of the Holy Prophet has not had any impact on the reality of revelation, nor has his contemporary culture.

Relying on philosophical principles such the priority of existence and the simplicity of Divine Essence, Mulla Sadra has proved that it is possible to attribute all perfections to God and that the conceptual multiplicity of Divine Names and Attributes, being unreal like the multiplicity of essences, are unreal and thus cause no harm to the Unity and Simplicity of God. Mystics also believe that Divine Essence and Attributes are one and the same and that the existence of names that are other than the Essence is unacceptable. They, however, accept the emergence of these names and attributes in stages of Divine determinations, somewhere below the rank of essence. According to them, the Divine Essence is not recognizable and thus has no name or attribute. It seems, prima facie, that it is not possible to reconcile the unity of essence and attributes with the total negation of names and attributes from Divine Essence. The present study tries to give an accurate explanation of mystics’ view concerning the relation between Divine Essence and Attributes through reconciling these two theories. After doing this, it compares Transcendental Theosophy and mysticism’s perspectives on this question.

The peculiar status of divine vicegerent in the universe is an important issue in discussions about the divine vicegerency of the Perfect Man. The divine vicegerent acts as a mediator between God and the universe, who receives divine grace from God and conveys it to the universe. Thus, it is one of the duties or functions of the God's vicegerent to serve as a medium for conveying divine grace to the world. Islamic doctrines, especially the traditions by the Infallibles, have touched this issue. In addition, mystical texts have also scrutinized it as a key issue.Having related relevant verses and traditions, the author deals with a theory that is derived from religious texts. He goes on to explain what Muslim mystics think of the mediation of God's vicegerent in conveying divine grace to the universe, trying to show that how this theory is in agreement with religious texts.

Textbooks are of paramount importance in any scientific field [and any place] especially in Islamic seminaries. So far, the three distinct works of Tamhid al-Qawaid, Sharh-e Fusus al-Hikam and Misbah al-Uns have been the main topic for discussions [in seminaries].Recently, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Yadullah Yazdanpanah has authored a work entitled ‘Foundations and Principles of Theoretical Mysticism’, which has been the center of attraction in many research and education centers. Given the peculiar place this work has gained in theoretical mysticism, both in research and education domains, the present article tries to pay a glance at its advantages and disadvantages, if any.