Different Aspects of the Concept of Sūkr in Mystic Texts

On the notion of Sukr, well-known mystical sources have drawn upon an array of different features. Synecdoche and metonymy, componential plurality and heterogeneity, proximity, overlapping, and the essential complexity of mystical concepts have caused much confusion and uncertainty in the process of the interpretation of the notion of Sūkr. Using a concept-based approach and a description-analysis method, the present article investigates the analytical and theoretical dimensions of Sūkr in the Quran, Hadiths and Islamic, mystical, and traditional narratives. The article also investigates twelve aspects of Sūkr in mystic texts and divides them into the four categories of the fundamental, the essential, the peripheral, and the more-peripheral. These aspects are as follows: the unity and union with the beloved, the “Mohebbins” status, irrationality, shirking duty, discursive speech, the exhaustion of patience, secret divulgence, bewilderment over vice and virtue, the “Samā”, disqualification as a leader or a guide, spontaneity of Sūkr as regards the beloved, consecration, and myth-making. This study has benefited from the theoretical elements associated with these notions in the speculative system of mysticism and Sufism. The results of the study indicate that the only substantial and essential aspect of Sūkr is the unity and union with the beloved and other aspects are superfluous. The spontaneity of Sūkr, as one of its characteristic features, implies that in the classification of the bits of jargon linked with Sufism.