Mystical Literature
Year:2023 | Volume:15 | Issue:33|Papers Count:6

The present article aims to elucidate the role of Ibn Qaysarani in defending Sufism and solidifying its position from the perspective of Sama’. By using an analytical-descriptive research method, a brief report of Ibn Qaysarani's two narrations in Safwa al-Tasawuf and Kitab al-Sama’ is provided. Then, his method in substantiating the permissibility of Sama’ is clarified. Furthermore, Ghazali's view of Sama in Ehyaye Olum-e-Din is examined and its similarities and differences with Ibn Qaysarani's view are shown. The importance of this discussion lies in the fact that both of them were among the prominent scholars of religion and among the elders of hadith, who sought a root for their fatwas in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and they figured out a way to the Sunnah of the Prophet and the Companions for all the movements and states of the Sufis in the monastic system. With their knowledge both in the field of theology and jurisprudence as well as the Book and Sunnah, unlike the conservative Sufis, they issued verdicts concerning permissibility of Sama’, through deploying the methods of scholars and jurists and relying on verses, hadiths, and Sunnah.

Entering the field of religious studies, hermeneutic phenomenology encloses the authority of the sacred texts as a normative guide with specific and defined patterns in brackets. This suspension opens up the field of non-descriptive poetic reference to the world. The events recounted in the Holy Book, regarded as historical events, now enjoy a textual existence which has distanced itself from its previous origins. Their current meanings are the product of their registration within a network of texts that consecutively support and displace each other in an intertextual whole. Accordingly, the Holy Book is above all a discourse that the general theory of the text recognizes as a link in a chain of communication. Paul Ricoeur, in compiling her hermeneutic arc, by emphasizing the stage of critical explanation (literary criticism), enables the transition from the initial superficial and biased interpretation to a deep reading that stands against the confrontation with objectivity. In this article, taking into account Ricoeur's views, we examine the concepts of “revelation and testimony” in Goran's holy texts,then by analyzing the poetry and discourse of “Nowruz Sorani” in this context, we try to demonstrate the objective pattern of these concepts in the sacred texts of Goran (Yarsan/Ahl-e-Haq). This suspension causes the revelation to be comprehended according to the unique features of discourses and, at the same time, through their mutual relationships. Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutic phenomenology, emphasizing the stage of critical explanation, enables the Holy Book to move away from the culturally dependent mental interpretations as well as fundamentalist interpretations and continues to be a point of reference and utilization in today's modern world.

During the 7th and 8th centuries AH, numerous works were written in the subcontinent, including India and Pakistan, known as “Malfuzat” in the field of mystical literature. The presence of certain commonalities between these texts and Majalis raises the question whether Malfuzats were written under the influence of or in imitation of Majalis, or they represent distinct literary works. Majalis-e Sab’e (621-629 or 637-642 AH) by Mowlavi and Favaed Al-Fuad (703-722 AH) by Sheikh Nezam Al-Din Awlia are well-known examples of Majalis and Malfuzats that are studied in this research, using a descriptive-analytical method, to examine their respective characteristics, both shared and distinct. This comparison is conducted within the framework of intertextuality theory. In terms of paratextuality, Favaed Al-Fuad and Majalis-e Sab’e share commonalities in the way they structure their gatherings and their lack of internal titles. In terms of architextuality, the affiliation of both works to a specific literary genre has led to the presence of certain structural and content-related features common to both texts. In terms of hypertextual relationship, considering the existence of historical documents, there is a possibility of the indirect derivation of Favaed Al-Fuad from Majalis-e Sab’e. Also quantitative, motivational, and qualitative transformations have been observed in Favaed Al-Fuad. The results of this research show that the influence of Favaed Al-Fuad by Majalis-e Sab’e is not imitative, and with regard to similarities, this work and possibly other Malfuzats represent an independent and indirect adaptation of Majalis-e Sab’e and other Majalis.

Functional linguistics is one of the most significant linguistic approaches of the 20th century, emphasizing the role of language and its structural units while examining structures beyond the sentence, namely, the text. The foundation of Halliday's Grammar relies on two attributes: Systemic and Functional. The semantic system encompasses the broadest functions of language,which Halliday calls metafunction. According to Halliday's Functional Grammar, there are six types of Ideational Metafunction: material, mental, relational, behavioral, existential, and verbal. This study employs a descriptive-analytical method to comparatively analyze these six processes in two of Mowlavi's prose works, Majalis-i Sab'e and Makatib. The aim is to answer the question of whether there is a relationship between the frequency of these process types and the textual and rhetorical structures that are considered prominent features of these works. This analysis seeks to shed light on these works’ stylistics based on ideational metafunction proposed in Halliday's Functional Grammar, thus providing insight into the author's worldview. The obtained results indicate that in Majalis-i Sab'e, the material process is more frequent, while in Makatib, the relational process has a higher frequency. This difference can be attributed to the nature of the discourse in each work. Majalis-i Sab'e consists of sermons and public speeches while Makatib comprises letters written by Mowlavi. Furthermore, among the nine peripheral elements, the spatial element has a high frequency in both works. Considering that the material process is the factor that raises transitivity and the relational process is the factor that lowers the transitivity of the text, low transitivity of Makatib has been compensated to some extent by the high frequency of the peripheral elements. This compensation allows the text to fulfill its intended purpose of teaching ethics and humanity.

The subject of investigation in this article is the reevaluation of the transformation of the poetry and personality of Sana’i. This research examines the evolution of Sanai’s poetry and personality by analyzing the content of Sanai’s odes (qasidas) and their historical context and admirers. The article demonstrates that contrary to common belief, the reason for Sanai’s departure from Ghazna was not his spiritual transformation towards asceticism and Sufism, but rather his failure to find admirers who could fulfill his material needs. He left Ghazna in search of suitable admirers and since at that time he was not a very famous poet, and the migration of other poets to cities far from Khorasan was not very successful, he decided to stay in Khorsan. However, the requirement for new admirers led to a change in the rhetorical and thematic structure of odes, and this is where Sanai's new role as the initiator of didactic-mystical ode genre began. Sana’i’s poetic character in the field of ode is different from his poetic character in the realm of lyrical literature (ghazal), but the synthesis of these two personas can be found in his masnavi works. Accordingly, Sanai’s role in the transformation of Persian poetry, rather than having an ideological dimension, has a rhetorical dimension. He holds a prominent position in poetic stature more than as a mystic.

One of the topics that has long received attention in our religious Quranic verses, and narrations, and has consequently found its way into our literary and mystical texts, is the subject of self-struggle. Examining Direct Quotes (DS) is one way of representing speech and thought. Asrar al-Tawhid, the subject of which is the sayings and states of Abu Sa'id Abu al-Khair, the prominent mystic of the fourth and fifth centuries (357-440), was written by one of his descendants named Muhammad ibn Munawwar. The book contains the accounts and statements either directly attributed to Abu Sa’id or reported by others about him, and includes important topics in Sufism. In this study, we aim to study the dialogic atmosphere (physical context), the syntactic construction, and the strategic plan of the quotations cited directly from Abu Sa'id in Asrar al-Tawhid by Muhammad ibn Munawwar, using library sources and a descriptive-analytical method. We will analyze these quotations to gain insights into Abu Sa'id's intellectual system regarding the struggle against the self. The findings of the research show that contrary to some ideological deviations apparent in the manners of Abu Sa'id in Asrar al-Tawhid regarding issues such as pilgrimage (hajj), mystic listening, asceticism, and austerity, when it comes to the struggle against the self, there is not only no deviation, but it is entirely consistent with religious teachings, Quranic principles, and beliefs of the jurists and legislators.