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Mr Mohammad Mohammadi, Mr Mahmoud Fotouhi,
Volume 30, Issue 93 (1-2023)
Abstract
One of the common literary trends in the Safavid and Qajar historical periods was writing the poetic interpretation of the Qur’an in Persian. The intellectual and linguistic structure of this literary trend was in fact a continuation of interpretations such as Kashf al-Asrar (520 AH), especially in Nowbate Thalithah, and the Mawaheb Aliyah (Hosseini interpretation, 897-899 AH), a tradition that shifted from prose to poetry in order to establish and expand itself. The purpose of the present study is to introduce five lesser-known poetic interpretative works in Persian. This has been done by referring to library sources and accessing the original versions based on a descriptive method. The obtained results are significant for fundamental studies in the fields of Sufism literature and Quranic studies. The five newly discovered interpretations are as follows: 1. Tohfeh Al-Momenin by Molavi Karimbakhsh (1068 AH) 2. Tafsir Rashidi (written around 1300 AH) by Abolfayaz Qamar al-Haq 3. Tafsir Najm Isfahani (1335-1336 AH) by Najm al-Hokama Muhammad Mousavi 4. Tafsir Asma al-Hossna by Geda (?) 5. Tafsir Manzoom by Nazr Hassan Ibn Muhammad Ali Zaidi (1247-1366 AH
Mahdi Mohabbati, Abbas Mashoufi,
Volume 30, Issue 93 (1-2023)
Abstract
In the Sufi tradition, wayfaring in the realm of the way requires a guru who can guide the wayfarer through the obstacles and in the discovery and understanding of mystical knowledge and the experience of truth. Many books, which deal with the rites of this spiritual journey and conduct, have emphasized the necessity of the presence of the guru and the commitment of the disciple to follow him. In this guidance and leadership, a discourse is made between the guru and the disciple. A discourse that the guru tries to guide the disciple by maintaining a discipline to oblige the disciple to do it (rites of the way). Based on Michel Foucault’s theory of power discourse, the purpose of this article is to review the guru-disciple relationship and to evaluate the aspects of “subjugation” and “transformation” of the wayfarer from “known and free subject” to “subordinate and bound subject” in the Sufi culture. This article uses the discourse analysis method. The result of this authoritative discourse and the existence of “bound subjects” can be attributed to the lack of a polyphonic and dynamic culture in the Sufi tradition, guru-worship, and the formation of the ritual collection of “manners of pilgrimage of Sheiks’ shrines”.
Abd-Al-Rahman Divasalar, Ahmad Ghanipour Malekshah, Morteza Mohseni,
Volume 30, Issue 93 (1-2023)
Abstract
Mystical ethics is a set of epistemological models that their results and functions are manifestations of God’s attributes in the mystic and their aim is perfecting and bringing man from the lowest level of his existence to the highest level of perfection. This can be achieved through following the path of God and dwelling in spiritual homes and by abstaining from vices and adornment with virtues and through austerity and effort. Attention to this rich and prolific spiritual concept is very prominent in Jami’s Masnavi of Haft Awrang. Based on a descriptive-analytical method the aim of this study is first to define mystical ethics and then to extract and express some of the themes of mystical ethics in the Masnavi of Haft Awrang, which are proposed in three areas of “Man’s relationship with God”, “Man’s relationship with himself” and “Man’s relationship with other men” and within five domains of “ideological-epistemological”, “emotional-affective”, “voluntary”, “action” and “speech”. By studying this Masnavi, we find that Jami tried to encourage his audience to observe mystical ethics based on serving God. Thus, the themes used in this Masnavi mainly revolve around the area of man’s relationship with God.
Atefe Amirifar, Seyyed Ali Ghasemzadeh,
Volume 31, Issue 94 (6-2023)
Abstract
Mystical experience refers to a kind of intuitive-occult experience completely beyond the reach of the mystic-subject. Hence, the mystic is unable to fully perceive it and to repeat its quality. This inability is not merely caused by the inexpressibility and the transcendental quality of the intuitive experience, but by the semantic system governing the intuitive event and then by its narration in the language of the mystic-subject. The semantic system governing the intuitive event is based on coincidence, confronting the subject with a stressful environment and occasion without any plan or presupposition. The semantic system of coincidence is one of the four semantic systems of Landowski, which is consistent with the quality of mystical and intuitive experience along with the narrative of this experience in the mystic-subject’s verbal and non-verbal language. Based on the semantic system of coincidence, in the continuous course of life, the mystic-subject suddenly encounters an unknown and extrasensory experience, fundamentally different from the program-oriented rules of the ordinary life and affecting him in two compressive and expansive dimensions. He is not only surprised while encountering an intuitive experience, but also finds the linguistic rules insufficient for reporting its quality. Thus, the subject will produce a new form of language and meaning with his verbal and non-verbal language owing to this coincident and stressful process.
Fatemeh Toobayi, Mohammad Yusof Nayyeri,
Volume 32, Issue 96 (4-2024)
Abstract
Investigating the origins of Sufism in various regions of Iran is a significant topic that has not been adequately explored. The researchers’ focus on Iraqi and Khorasan schools of Sufism has led to neglecting Sufi practices in other areas including Fars and Shiraz. Notably, the presence of over eighty Sufi sheikhs in Fars and Shiraz before the appearance of Ibn Khafif, along with the substantial growth of Sufism in this region underscores the need to study the origins and development of Sufism there. This research identified forty-three sheiks from Fars and Shiraz who lived either before or contemporaneously with Ibn Khafif and analyzed their mystical views based on the limited available information. As a result of this analysis, it is evident that four main Sufi currents existed during this period: first, the ascetic and secluded form of Sufism; second, the Iraqi school of Sufism; third, the Khorasan school of Sufism; and fourth, the pioneers of Fars school of mysticism. The findings indicated that the Shiraz school sheiks were predominant in Fars, with other currents playing a lesser role.
Maryam Zarif, Mahdi Nikmanesh,
Volume 32, Issue 97 (1-2025)
Abstract
Rather than expressing his feelings in poetry, Bidel uses poetry to express his thoughts. This rapid flow of thought is evident in his views of natural phenomena and descriptions of the elements of nature. Since his mind is filled with mystical meanings and concepts, everything he looks at takes on the color and fragrance of mysticism and flows through his tongue. He considers art to include perfection and moral virtues and with its help, he has tried to express the capabilities of man and the nature around him. From a descriptive and analytical perspective, this research addresses the symbolism of mountain in Bidel’s masnavi of Tūr-e-Marefat (or Mountain of Knowledge) and investigates the images in which the natural element of the mountain is artistically connected with mystical concepts and meanings. First, the images were identified and classified, then the significance of the ‘mountain’ icon was highlighted and its mystical hidden meanings were explained. The findings showed that the concepts hidden in the symbols of water, fire, and earth, in a coherent set, have a mystical transcendental path from the lowest level to the highest position in Bidel’s perspective, and these elements have a conceptual relationship with the ‘mountain’.
Parvin Mortazâei, Rahâ Zâreifard, Zahra Hosseini,
Volume 33, Issue 98 (5-2025)
Abstract
Mosibatnāma (book of afflictions) is one of Attar’s most significant masnavi (rhyming couplet) poems in the realm of mystical literature, wherein the poet’s supplications to the Divine have endowed it with a unique charm. The structure of these supplications—with dimensions of fear, intimacy, and reproach—assists the poet in articulating social and ethical ideas. In this study, using a descriptive-analytical method, the discursive dimensions of the supplications in Attar’s Mosibatnāma and the way social and power relations are articulated and interpreted in the text are examined through Fairclough’s model. According to this approach, Attar’s supplications in Mosibatnāma fall into three categories—fearful, intimate, and reproachful—each analyzed at three levels: description, interpretation, and explication. At the descriptive level, lexical features, sentence structures, and grammatical patterns reflect the poet’s social experience and convey the social anxiety and turmoil of Khorasan in the 7th century AH. At the interpretive level, the poet’s focus on describing God’s essential attributes conveys submission of the servant before the Divine, confirming the dominance of Ash’ari determinist thought within the poet’s social environment. At the explicative level, we observe the traces of courtly authority and the poet’s desire to purify the spiritual atmosphere of his era, an atmosphere in which social, religious, and doctrinal chaos have accumulated and materialism and self-interest have flourished. Other findings include the poet’s representation of the society’s governing system alongside his idealistic aspiration for peace and friendship.
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