"Tahghigh and Taghlid" (Research and Imitation) in Sufism

The mystical terms: “Tahghigh and Taghlid” (Research and Imitation) of Islamic mysticism are the fundamental terms. Although the two terms have broad applications in the course of evolution and in historical and mystical texts in the various positions, they have been used in Islamic mysticism with which the most Mashayekh agree. These important terms were not enclosed and limited in mystical texts rather they maintained their real concepts and found the way to Persian literature and poetry with the eloquent themes. In this paper, first we restated the views of great Sheikhs like Abu Nasr Siraj, Abdul Rahman Solami, Ibn-e Ata and Mostamly of Bokhari about Research and imitation". Then we discussed the definitions that are presented for the first time by Kashf-almahjub of Hojviri about these two terms, and then we investigated the history and evolution of the mystical meaning of these two important terms in the middle ages with respect to the views of mystics like Aynolgozat Hamedani, Mohammad Ghazali, Najm aldin al-Razi and Nasafy's review, and finally considered how these two terms have been used in Persian literature in the outstanding mystical Sufi poems of Rumi, Sanai and Attar.