Distinguishing True Mysticism from False Mysticisms

This paper expounds the different between true mysticism and false types of mysticism. According to the Household of the Prophet (pbut), the God-knowing mystic is the one who achieves the highest status of man’s knowledge, the achievement of which is possible for him/her. Throughout history mysticism has been subject to distortion and it was considered identical to poetry because mystics and poets express spiritual and mystical concepts in an imaginative and poetic way. This is a common misconception. In the very Holy Qur’an, we sometimes find metaphoric, allegoric and imaginative expressions. Therefore, mysticism is can never mean having the skill of framing spiritual concepts in the form of poem or in a metaphoric, allegoric and imaginative way. God-knowing mystic is the one who, in addition to his sound knowledge of God, His names and His attributes, has a profound belief in God and His attributes. This type of mysticism is an accurate indication of the real man, true Shi’a and true spirit of Shi’ism, and it manifests itself when Divine Light shines in the believer’s heart.