Comparative Study of Dhul-Nun's Personality Dimensions in Three Tazkirats (Tabaqat-al-Sufia, Tazkirat al-Awliya, and Nafahat al-Uns)

Tabaqat-al-Sufia by Ansari, Tazkirat al-Awliya by Attar, and Nafahat al-Uns by Jami are among the most prominent works in the history of Sufism that follow the same purpose, content, and manner of expression in describing the demeanors of the saints or spiritual leaders. In the three books, influenced by the thoughts, beliefs, and the time period of their authors, particular manners of the saints have been taken into consideration which could be analyzed from a variety of perspectives. Egyptian Dhul-Nun is one of the most prominent saints of Sufism. With a comparative historical, descriptive, and narrative investigation of Egyptian Dhul-Nun’s personality in the three aforementioned works, it could be seen that all the three works contribute to a transcendental recognition of Dhul-Nun's personality in line with teaching Sufism foundations. However, Ansari, due to the prejudice and religious and sectarian conflicts of his time and in the course of development of the principles of Sufism, introduces Dhul-Nun as a pious and religious mystic. Attar, through great depiction of spiritual munificence, skillful exploitation of story elements, and with a critical look at his era of corruption, introduces Dhul-Nun as a champion and popular mystic. The image of Dhul-Nun in Nafahat is different from the one depicted in Tabaqat. Jami, while disregarding the social conditions, tries to introduce Dhul-Nun as a moderate Sufi whose teaching mission is to direct the individuals towards ethical principles. To him, he is a moderate and decent mystic.