Religions and Mysticism
Year:2016 | Volume:48 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

Nuṣayrī-‘Alawī is a Shiite sect that the extremist-esoteric approach among them is highly visible. Due to the mysterious nature of such these esoteric movements, a little work of Nuṣayrī heritage is available to the public. A collection entitled Silsilat al-turāth al-‘alawī has published in recent years which includes an abundant works of Nuṣayrī heritage. Ḥaqāiq asrār al-dīn is one of them that among the followers of the sect have been attributed to Abu Muhammad Hassan b. Ali b. Shuba al-Harrani, who is known in Imami tradition by writing the Tuhaf al-Ughul. The importance of this book is that it contains many quotations from the works of extremists (Ghulat), especially the second and third centuries of Kufan (Iraq), such as Mufażżal b. ‘Umar al-Ju‘fī and Muĥammad b. Sinān that the content of some of these texts today is in hand only through this book. This paper attempts, by examining evidence at the first, to determine the time that Ḥaqāiq belongs to and in the next step to identify its author. According to textual criticism, the historical authenticity of the text, dating in part in the fourth century and assign it to Ibn Shuba could be suggested.

Ewangelyōn zīndagis one of the Mani’s own writhings in Syraic. This book is quoted in Iranian manichaean, Greek, Coptic, Latain, Chinese, and Islamic texts.The complet quotation comes in Greeks Kӧlner Mani-Codex (CMC) and Coptic ones. Iranian texts of Ewangelyōn Zīndag come in middle persain, parthian and soghdian Fragments. After this are the Chinese Fragments. Islamic texts are sorely very defective.The complet one is the quotaisons of Biruni. This paper suggests a schema from chapter Alef of Mani’s ewangelyōn Zīndag and from the other 22 chapters of Mani’s Ewangelyōn Zīndag. The other chapters is cited in MSC.

The expressions of "esoteric" and "esotericism" have a wide range of meanings, however, they specifically apply to religious, mystical, and philosophical secret schools. In ancient Greek world, i.e. before the Hellenistic era, we come across some currents with esoteric tendencies. The various texts from this period show that the ancient Greeks sought the source of the esoteric currents outside the cultural boundaries of Greece, somewhere in Egypt or Asia. The Greek esoteric currents before Plato’s time include Eleusinian, Dionysiac/Bacchic and Orphic religions and Pythagorean religious-philosophical school. The common end of these currents is deliverance through purification (catharsis). In the Greek esoteric religions, this end is reached through the initiatory rites and mystery cults. The Orphism also obliges the initiators to observe some ritual prohibitions and instils despising of the earthly world in them. The Pythagoreans, while preserving the religious dimensions, base their esotericism on knowledge and thus establish their own unique philosophical esotericism.

Abu al-Thana' Shihab al-Din Mahmoud Alusi Baghdadi was one of the Quranic commentators of the 13th century, a follower of Naghshbandiyyah Sufi order, and the author of the Quranic commentary, Ruh al-Ma' ani. One of the important aspects of his commentary is the approach of the author to the tradition of the mystical commentary. Alusi had the mystical tendencies, and in some places reflected viewpoints of the commentators who worked in theoretical and practical mysticism, according to his scholarship, taste, spirituality, external states, and the needs of addressees. Regarding the school and tradition of the mystical commentary, Alusi's encounter with interpretative views of mystics is selective. Accordingly, effort for causing agreement between religious law and mysticism on the basis of Naghshbandiyyah, forms ruling spirit over this attitude in the tradition of mystical commentary. Moreover, one should not be negligent about Alusi's scholarly and critical encounter with other viewpoint of mystical commentary in Ruh al-Ma' ani, such as his opinion of Ibn Arabi's theory of the unity of Being. These encounters which indicate his independent attitude and intellectual power on the Quranic commentary in general, and on the mystical commentary in particular, are explainable and distinguishable only in the light of special approach to, and the consideration of his scholarship and specialization.

Meister Eckhart is one of the Christian Mystics that Christian Orthodoxy and Catholic Church accused his thoughts in Medieval Ages and named him heretic. Most important themes that disparate the Theism of Eckhart from his Christian predecessors are belief to Godhead beyond God, Denial of possibility of Knowing God, Innovations about Trinity, belief to apophatic Theology and etc. He defended of his beliefs against this charges, but because of his interior tendency, the Theism of Eckhart is result of apophatic Theology of Dionysius and Neoplatonism and without Denial of Trinity; while accepting its function and essence in his preachers; regards Unity superior specialty of Godhead above existence and nothing.

Rationality and Spirituality is a theory follows the spiritualism in west, to fill the spiritual gap made by modernism. The goal of this theory is reduction of human’s pain by collecting between Rationality and Spirituality, which is engendered by modernism and religion. As modernism based on reason, rationality is fundamental in this theory. Spiritualty is application of rationality or is personal religion, which arise from reducing the historical religion. Take modernism as a primary concern and the minimalistic look to religion, at opposition to modernism, weakens this theory and makes it ambiguous in many aspects. The audience of the theory and its purpose is unclear and how it achieve to its goal is ambiguous. Some of these ambiguities are caused by lack of coherence in the theory and lack of citing all of its appliances and bases. Ambiguity in the quantity and quality of reduction of religion and the lack of clarity of the foundations of this theory has weakened it. This article wants, through studying, to make this theory more clear and evolve it.

One of the approaches which defends the rationality of religious beliefs is the reformed epistemology. Among reformed epistemologists, Wolterstorff’s view is subject to less criticism. This article tries to present epistemological foundations of Wolterstorff’s view by describing and analyzing the statements which he has offered in his works. Wolterstorff’s epistemological foundations are explainable, totally, in the light of evidentialism. To turn away deficient and radical enlightenment epistemology, Wolterstorff approves deontological epistemology beside situated rationality With regard to extended conception of rationality, Wolterstorff not only approves situated rationality and epistemological aspect but also resorts to psychology of belief. However He asserts foundationalism beside coherence, according to approve negative coherence, foundationalism doesn’t affect his affirmative view. Wolterstorff examines the rationality of religious beliefs with regard to variety aspects but he supports some pluralism.