Mystical Literature
Year:2017 | Volume:9 | Issue:16 |Papers Count:8

Modarres Razavi in Hadiqat al Haqiqa annotations, under "Drunken Camel in the Desert" anecdote has noted that from his viewpoint Sanai’ s statements about “ camel” reveal his mistranslation or misunderstanding of the anecdote’ s original source, i. e. Ibn-al-Muqaffa's Kalī lah and Dimnah. In the original anecdote in Mahabharata and Kalī lah and Dimnah, this word has been recorded as “ ifil” . Hence, it is probable that Sanai has mistakenly translated this word as “ underage camel” . However, what can be realized from animal semiology in Sanai's thoughts is that he has selected “ camel” symbol deliberately and consciously. On this basis, in this paper we propose four duly-substantiated reasons for “ Sanai's deliberate selection” hypothesis taking into consideration Sanai’ s dream interpretation in Hadiqa; the national symbolic tradition used in narrating Esfandiar expedition to Zabulistan, the climatic and geographical evidence in Hadiqa anecdotes, and the allegorical narrative of "the Affair of the Elephant" in Sanai’ s Hadiqa.

The theory of divine love has undergone a special transformation in Iranian-Islamic mysticism. Having been formed in particular streams, it transformed and eventually evolved. The aspects of this theory have been raised in various and sometimes different forms in mystical texts including the types and dimensions of love, the permission or lack of permission to attribute it to God, the relationship of true love with the virtual beloved, and the relationship of love with mystical ontology. In this paper, employing descriptive-analytical research method, the evolution of this theory in Persian mystical texts and its most prominent intellectual and discursive currents is investigated. In the early periods, Sufis conservatively avoided the use of the word "love" for expressing the relationship between man and God, and used the word “ affection” (hobb) instead; chiefly relying on Islamic-Quranic teachings. However, since the fifth century onwards, many Sufis, despite theologians’ disagreements, have displayed tendencies to use “ love” rather than the Qur'anic concept of affection. Initial denial, relative acceptance in the fourth and fifth centuries, and absolute acceptance from the fifth century onwards, illustrate the evolution of this theory in Persian mystical texts. Moreover, it seems that attention has been paid to this theory in the four currents of Khorasan school, Shiraz school, Suhrawardi thoughts and the school of unity of Ibn Arabi. Of course, other currents, discourses and minor and major mystical, philosophical and theological schools of thoughts have also been at work in the emergence and transformation of this theory.

One of the most prominent works of Persian language and literature is Nizami’ s Makhzan al-Asrar, which can be studied as an open source text. This work, as the name implies and as the poet declares, is the source of divine secrets and mysteries, and contains elements and sections that could be understood only by thinking beyond the surface meaning and discovering the archetypal symbols and themes. One of the most important and complex parts of Makhzan al-Asrar is the part that Nizami describes his two states of seclusion and their fruitful results. The purpose of this research is to analyze the symbolism of this part; a true and accurate understanding of which unravels many mysteries of Makhzan al-Asrar, on the one hand, and aids the audience to appreciate the symbolic concepts of other poems of Nizami, on the other hand. Findings of this library-oriented research reveal that the dual states of seclusion by Nizami unveil the real events which happened to him; through which he encountered archetypal symbols such as paradise, Anima, heart, wind, old-wise, shadow and the like, and experienced a spiritual and inner rejuvenation resulted from his deep musings.

Despite the prevalent and dominant assumption which considers mystical texts devoid of epistemological and philosophical propositions, cognitive and metacognitive propositions and principles can be seen profusely in mystical texts, specifically in Mowlavi's couplets. Mowlavi is well aware of the role of schemas, mentalities, and situations in shaping human cognition. Although this was Existentialism that initially conceptualized existential experiences. Yet human being has found himself involved with these situations since the advent of existence. Intellectuals such as Mowlavi have also referred to these existential experiences. From Mowlavi viewpoint, our knowledge of self and the world is based on the accounts that we dogmatically consider as absolute and definite. However, upon being put in certain situations, we get to realize that they are not that reliable. To display the incredibility of conditional mentalities and cognition, he frequently places his stories' characters in brittle, tensional, and boundary situations to make their inaccurate and negative schemas— which seem evident, natural and credible— get deconstructed and transformed by examining existential experiences. Through experiencing such boundary situations (using Jaspers’ words) and the anxiety caused by them, reliable supports and formal stereotypes begin to collapse, and the possibility of new experiences and perspectives, such as the possibility of experiencing beyond the limits, namely, transcendence and existence, is raised.

The contradictory and multidimensional relationship between Shi’ ism, Sufism and monarchy in the Safavid period has led to the formation of particular discourses, propositions and discursive actions in that era. This relationship has been formed around the quest for socio-political legitimacy with the aim of stabilizing a desirable discursive order. The religious refutations by the Sufis and Shia clergy could be considered as political and ideological media aimed at challenging the political and social legitimacy of the rival discourse. In this paper, we attempt to investigate the way Persian refutations encountered Sufism during Safavid era with discourses about Sufism. This analysis is done at two textual and meta-textual levels. In textual analysis, using critical linguistic tools, we sought to identify the persuasive techniques and argumentative propositions deployed for confronting Sufism, and in meta-textual analysis we attempted to investigate the historical structures which affected the authors' approach and the relationship of the texts with effective historical mechanisms. From this perspective, it seems that the authors of refutations attempted to alienate the discourses of Sufism and reproduce the ideological distance between Sufism and Shi’ ism by deploying certain strategies such as defaming the elites' reputation and decontextualizing the teachings of Sufism. The major discursive proposition of these treatises is the denial of any historical and epistemological relationship between Sufism and Shi’ ism. The moderate approach of some elites of that era in criticizing Sufism can also be considered an attempt to stabilize the desired discursive order by dividing Sufism into two positive and negative poles.

In the present paper, the realization of aesthetic system of discourse is analyzed in the story of “ Halima’ s Asking Help of the Idols” in the fourth book of Mathnavi. Collaboration and interaction between “ sound” and “ light” , as two forces, play a significant role in this story’ s plot; on the basis of which meaning is formed. Examining the semiotic function of these two factors suggests that a kind of aesthetic system governs the infrastructure of this story. This system is realized in a sensory-perceptual and event-based process and with elements such as affection, sense, event, and state. The issue that arises is how light and sound in an interactive and sensory-perceptual process form a new discourse and create an unpredicted meaning. The main question addressed in this study is how these two factors can lead to the realization of the aesthetic system and transcendence of the discourse. Also, the question arises as to what the function of such a process is. In fact, the purpose of the research is to investigate the formation of the aesthetic system in the discussed story and explain its semio-semantic function. Our hypothesis is that the two factors of "sound" and "light" form an interactive atmosphere. This creates a sensory, event-based, and state space in the discourse; as a result of which the aesthetic system and the transcendental status of presence are realized.

To accomplish the research objectives in mystical studies, it is essential to adopt a methodology that is organized, scientific, and consistent with the nature of the field. One of the fundamental issues in mystical research is recognition of the mystical tradition and disposition of every mystic. In fact, explaining the tradition and disposition of the mystics seems to be the first and crucial step in conducting mystical studies. In this paper, we present a method for explicating mystical traditions and dispositions in accordance with the nature of Islamic mysticism. In this method, four pillars (the goal and the ultimate end, method, themes and concepts, and educational system)are identified for the mystical tradition, and three axes (the journey, themes and concepts, and educational system) are determined for mystical disposition. These pillars and axes make it possible to explicate the mystical tradition and disposition of a mystic. In addition, in this paper, Aziz bin Muhammad Nasafi has been selected as a case for discussing the applicability of the method. He strived to choose a path between the two mystical traditions. Accordingly, he adhered to the second tradition in basics and principles, and followed the first mystical tradition in subordinate issues. His mystical disposition is also based on his master’ s, Saad al-Din Hamooyeh, mystical disposition, which is of course accompanied with his initiatives in the areas of conduct and ontology.