Ayn Rand was a Russian-born American philosopher, novelist, and playwright, whose interpretation of ethical egoism is one of the most important interpretations of this theory. Rand is a proponent of intellectual egoism, and rationalism is a fundamental element in her ethical theory. This article attempts to review, analyze, and criticize her interpretation of ethical egoism. Additionally, an ethical theory known as ego-altruism will be introduced in opposition to Rand’s theory. Ego-altruism proposes that the pivot of ethics is to maintain balance and equilibrium between the self and others.

Qurrat al ‘ Ayn is one of the classical Persian texts which compares Persian proverbs with Arabic proverbs. It also compares these proverbs with the Quran verses. This book has been edited and published based on two manuscripts; namely, the manuscript of the University of Tehran (1462) and the manuscript of Tabriz National Library (1531) by Amin Pasha Ejlali more than forty years ago. This study illustrates the imperfections of the previous edition by showing the differences between the old manuscripts and Ejlali’ s edition. It also ascertains the necessity of a new edition of this manuscript. Editors of this new edition have used older handwritten versions of this book, like those of Homaei’ s (1253), Fatih Library’ s (1322), Mara’ shi Library’ s (1496), as well as two manuscripts of Ayasofya Library (1492 & 16th century). They have shown that choosing less important manuscripts, not recording the base manuscript’ s words and even recording wrong or incomplete recording of the manuscripts used, are the most important drawbacks of the previous edition. Availability of older important manuscripts is another reason for the establishment of a new edition. This new edition proves that some of anecdotes and Persian or Arabic poems were missed in the older edition and also there are way better records to be published.

The mystical knowledge that ‘Ayn al-Qudat propounds does not seem much different from other mystic’s point of view, but it might have been for the first time presented in a compiled form by him. Hence, the fundamental question in this research is: what is mystical knowledge in ‘Ayn al-Qudat’s point of view and how this mystical knowledge is discerned from scientific knowledge? How can we find it? How epistemological value of each human perception is determined in mystical knowledge in his point of view?In all his works, ‘Ayn al-Qudat attempts to explain true (mystical) knowledge and discern it from other human knowledge. He tries to avoid mistaking them with each other so that the seeker does not sink into exoteric knowledge, but he always concerns about moving toward the true knowledge. In his opinion, mystical knowledge is not the result of rational thinking or reasoning, but it is arisen from the nature of that knowledge itself which human being can only find it through disclosure, intuition, and revelation.

The main axis of this article is the  25 letter of Ayn-Al-Qudat Hamadani which in the atmosphere of modern hermeneutics is paid attention very much. We in this article consider and criticize the post-modernity interpretation of the mentioned letter and then compare the view point of Ayn-Al-Qudat with Hisam Al-Din Chalabi's expression about Molavi's words and Ibn Arabi's thesis on the allegorical interpretation of the Quran. We also put forward another interpretation about the hermeneutical thesis of Ayn-Al-Qudat.

Unity of Being as a doctrine that says no other entity unless God can be described by Being, has been scattered all over the writings on Ayn ul-Quzzat. In Commenting this Quranic verse: "How! Are they still in doubt about the meeting with their Lord? Lo! Is not He surrounding all things?" (Quran, 01:10) he describes those who are in doubt about the meeting with the Lord, as blind. The blind men are who can not see God's sovereign encompassment over all existents including His Being, because in doing so, can undoubtedly observe that they, themselves, are among the numerous Divine manifestations. For him, God by His sovereign encompassment over the manifestations can be regarded both as centre and periphery. Therefore, God possesses Being truly not like the creatures that are of it metaphorically. They, i. e. creatures, are the various modes of the Unitary Being that from time to time, Hamadani calls them as temporal advents. God is eternal, to say, He is beyond the time, so that one can say as in the beginningless eternity God existed with no other thing accompanied Him, He exists in the present time and will exist in the endless eternity, too.

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.

Ayn-al Quzat Hamedani (492-525 LH) is one of the most important pioneers of the tradition of Iranian philosophy, a mystic of the first mystical tradition who has used opinions on ontology for knowledge and journey to God. The purpose of this study was to identify the mystical foundations of his ontology and its roots by a descriptive-analytical method which showed that although in the division of existence he was influenced by philosophers, but the ‘ Possible Existence’ had no real place in his division. He believes that existence is one and calls it the unique essence of the universe which everything except it is nothing. But, he uses non-existence in two senses of pure and latent which are the representatives the materials and lights, respectively. These are entities through which the essence is manifested. Thus, light, in his ontology, is the representation of existence and is equivalent to the divine attributes. Mohammad’ s Light arises from the attribute of beneficence, and Devil’ s Light emerges from the attribute of Omnipotence. For this reason, Ayn al-Quzat has called Mohammad’ s Light alongside Allah, the creature of beings, and by considering darkness as light, he has distanced himself from the believers of Duality. He tried to discuss the emergence of the issues of ‘ accompaniment’ and ‘ manifestation’ by mentioning plurality from unity and attributes from the essence. The study also shows that Ayn al-Quzat introduced and completed some important theoretical debates with the development of new ideas in ontology such as: unique essence, unit manifestation, lack of boredom through non-repetition in manifestation, and the continuous creativity theory.

Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani, despite his short life, is one of the prominent thinkers of the mystic tradition of Iran and Islam. Most of the research about this famous mystic has been around historical issues related to his lifetime or his mystic and theological views. This is while Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani’ s thoughts contain significant political dimensions that have been neglected so far. This study, adopting the framework of paradigmatic-implicative approach, intends to examine the way he dealt with the crises of his time and his interpretations of them. Accordingly, the study aims to investigate the most important political implications and intellectual potentials residing in Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani’ s method of confronting the political and intellectual crises of his time. The results of this study show that Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani is a thinker who, while being immersed in mystic thought, has a precise and conscious analysis and explanation of political crises and circumstances of his time and has offered serious and vehement criticisms of them. The present article argues that Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani’ s critical confrontation with the intellectual and political crises and challenges of his time entails obvious political implications in his thoughts. Accordingly, Ayn al-Qudat can be considered not only a prominent figure in the realm of mysticism but also a sagacious intellectual who is deeply concerned about issues in public and political spheres.

Mani is among the philosophers and mystic scholars who had left the most profound effects on the theoretical grounds of Gnosticism which flourished in Iran after them. His beliefs about the divine or ancient human being, his fight against Iblis, his belief in the two bases of being (Spentä Mainyu and Angra Mainyu in the Zoroastrian religion or Ahmad and Iblis as meant by Halaj, Ahmad Ghazali, and Ayn al-Quzat), separating the soul from the body, mystical manifestation and exemplification were transformed exactly or with slight differences to the realms of ancient Iranian Sufism of which Ayn al-Quzat is a notable inheritor. The basic goal of the present study is to determine, explain, and analyze the degree to which Gnostic thoughts of Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani and Mani agree in the mentioned fields. The research hypothesis comprises the tracing of the mediated influence of Mani on Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani in the field of the two bases and also the unmediated effects of Mani on him in the field of mystical manifestation, exemplification, and the separation of the spirit from the body. This influence has been to such an extent that it can be said that Ayn al-Quzat’ s Gnosticism is affected by Mani’ s Gnosticism in the three different areas. The results of the study are as follows: Mani and Ayn al-Quzat both agree that every creature in the universe has exemplified alternative in the heavenly world (the Malakot), while Ayn al-Quzat believes that each action that human beings do has a good or bad exemplified reflection in the Malakot. In this research project, a descriptive-analytical method is applied to the common grounds in the mystical thoughts of Mani and Ayn al-Quzat.

The interrelationship between unbelief and faith constitutes a central theme in Sufi discourse, addressing both theological and existential dimensions. While in the early centuries of Islam, these concepts were predominantly interpreted within classical Islamic frameworks, a close examination of Ayn al-Qudat’s works reveals that his understanding is not only novel but also fundamentally transformative. He not only provides a unique interpretation of unbelief and faith but also introduces a new classification and specialized mystical terminology related to these concepts. This study aims to explore Ayn al-Qudat’s perspective on unbelief and faith, highlighting his theoretical innovations in this domain. It also seeks to trace his intellectual influences by critically analyzing the mystical works predating and succeeding Ayn al-Qudat, assessing the extent to which his thought impacted later mystics. In Ayn al-Qudat’s ontological model, "Kufr-i Haqiqat" (annihilation in the Divine Essence) represents the highest stage among various forms of unbelief. According to his classification, the wayfarer must traverse three distinct phases before attaining "Kufr-i Haqiqat": Kufr-i Zahir (Apparent Unbelief), Kufr-i Nafs / Mugh / Jalāli, and Kufr-i Qalb / Muhammadi / Jamāli. Upon completing this final stage, faith emerges, transforming the wayfarer into a true believer. The research findings suggest that Ayn al-Qudat’s interpretation of unbelief and faith is partly influenced by Junayd and Hallaj, yet his classification system and mystical terminology remain uniquely his own. Following Ayn al-Qudat, various scholars including Baqli in Abhar al-'Ashiqin, Nasafi in Insan al-Kamil, Bakhrazi in Awrad al-Ahbab, Shabestari in Gulshan-i Raz, and Mas'ud Dehlavi in Mir'at al-'Arifin have drawn upon his mystical insights on unbelief and faith, integrating them into their respective doctrinal frameworks.