پژوهشنامه عرفان
سال ششم شماره 11 (پاییز و زمستان 1393)

The present paper is an attempt to study the life of three renowned Sufis (mystics), i.e. Kamaluddin Hossein bin Hassan Khwarazmi, Kamaluddin Hossein bin Shahabuddin Khwarazmi and Tajuddin Hossein Khwarazmi Tabadkani, the accounts of whose lives have been mixed up in some of the sources. The main thrust of the present paper is to study the mentorship (Qutbiat) of the Kubraviyyah Circle after Haji Mohammad Khabushani, because the life accounts of two renowned Sufis, i.e. Kamaluddin Hossein Khwarazmi and Tajuddin Hossein Tabadkani have been mixed up. The former was the mentor (Qutb) of the Hosseiniyeh Hamedaniyeh Kubraviyyah Circle and the second was one of the mentors of the Zahabiyyah Kubraviyyah Circle. The issue is very important in the light of the fact that Sheikh Mohammad Aref (Mohammad Karandehi) was a disciple of both of them. However, since both the Sufis have the similar names some of the sources have mixed up the accounts of their lives to the extent that in many cases one has been introduced instead of the other. Attempts have been made in this article to explain the lives of the two Sufis and also shed light on the probable mentor of this circle in the sources of the Zahabiyyah Circle.

Mystical and Quranic theology of Allama Tabatabi is in line with his philosophical theology. He considers the necessary being as the first philosophical issue, which is needless to prove and promotes proof to the level of Gnosticism by his reading of the truthful’s proof (borhan siddiqin). In his mystical approach – whose transparent, precise manifestation can be seen in Al-Wilaya Treatise – he introduces God as a known, visible single who is not unknown to anybody and everybody can see God above everything and with everything through esoteric wayfaring and self-knowledge as well as maintaining its requirements and requisites and realize that singlehood of God does not allow any space for others. This approach is also followed in details in his Quranic studies, particularly in Al-Mizan Exegesis. Through this tri-level (philosophical, mystical and Quranic) approach, Allama Tabatabi, on the one hand unveils the overlapping of the three layers in his approach to God and on the other has proved that if philosophical, mystical and Quranic theology is studied in its proper context, there will be no contradiction or conflict between them, rather each layer complements and explains the other layer. The present paper is an attempt to reproduce and analyze his mystical and Quranic approach based on primary sources.

Although the manuscripts of Ibn Arabi lack any mention of the concept of unity of being (Wahdat al- Wujud) and its philosophical demonstration, the issue of personal unity of being has always been the most fundamental and at the same time the most controversial issue in the history of theoretical mysticism and transcendental philosophy. The expositors of Ibn Arabi including Ibn Turkeh as well as Mulla Sadra have tried to philosophically prove the unity of being. The contention of the present paper is that the spirit of Ibn Arabi’s mysticism is pantheism, but it is not compatible with cause-effect logic. Hence, attempts have been made to extract a triality (fardi) logic to be used as a base for explanation of unity of being. According to Ibn Arabi, until there is no individuality, there is no manifestation and singularity will remain in its single inner being. Attempts have been made in this paper to go beyond customary logical method. As the integrity of philosophy lies in explanation of existence on the basis of causality – although the effect may be the very connection to the cause – in mystical approach, which is based on manifestation, it is not appropriate to reduce the existence to causality in analyzing the structure of existence, rather it is appropriate to change the method of explanation. Hence, this individuality, which is based on the logic of perfect man, tries to show its single method in all levels of being, that is, language, mind, statement and world makes distinction between the true and borrowed beings.

Environmental challenges are among the significant issues of the recent decades, but other disciplines too have tried to find out some solutions to these challenges. A precise study of Moulana’s thoughts would indicate that there are some capacities and factors in his thought that can correct or moderate man’s wrong interaction with the environment. Moulana’s faith in absolute creativeness and acting of God, unity of being and manifestation of God in the universe teaches man that the universe enjoys a specific integrity and solidarity and that respecting the creatures and observing their sanctity is tantamount to respecting the divine statuses. Also due to prevalence of the divine love in the universe, creatures move towards perfection and towards their Creator, while man’s disturbances and destruction is an obstacle in this process. Finally, Moulana’s attention to such issues as the liveliness of the universe, perpetual evolution and change of the beings and their ability to speak would balance man’s pride and his utilitarian domination over other beings.

The issue of nature of sin and its definition and stages for different classes of believers is one of the issues that has not been studied properly yet. In practical mysticism, the goal of the wayfarer is not merely liberation from the world, rather it is to achieve the Sacred Divine Court. It is because of the epistemological status of the individuals themselves that God has more expectation of them and hence more obligations have been assigned to them. On the other hand, the more a wayfarer gets closer to the destination, the more precise, delicate and narrower the path will become. Sins can be divided into jurisprudential, ethical and mystical ones. A wayfarer passes through the three worlds of desire, self and reason to achieve proximity to God. Besides jurisprudential and ethical sins, there are several other sins that a wayfarer should avoid. The present paper is an attempt to classify sins and explain their nature and the reason for being a sin. In fact, prohibition of any class of sins is because of the positive impact that their discarding leaves on wayfarers in their journey through any of the above-mentioned worlds to achieve proximity to God and gain knowledge of God.

Mystical wayfaring is conducted in two ways in Shia religion. Tree mysticism and step-by-step mysticism. In tree mysticism, emphasis is laid on the esoteric grades of wayfaring; also the major and minor stages are identified. In step-by-step wayfaring, emphasis is laid on the levels of wayfaring. Hence, the wayfarer should in the first place know which level of wayfaring he should start with, and then undertake the next step and next level. In other words, in step-by-step wayfaring, the duties are mentioned in sequence and step by step.

Majnun is one of the story personages, who is not only mentioned in the lyric stories, but also in mystical stories. Attar is a mystic poet who, more than other poets, has spoken of Majnun in his Mathnavis. According to Attar, Majnun is the embodiment of the condition of those who achieve perfection in love and have satiated from the spring of insight. In his various stories of Majnun, Attar tries to manifest in him what is necessary for the way and method of wayfarers, considering him a career of a considerable chunk of his own mystical thoughts. Therefore, it won’t be unrealistic to state that the Majnun of Attar’s stories is the poet himself in the garb of Majnun, for the end result of different behaviors mentioned by the poet is nothing but the gist of thoughts and ideas of great mystics.