The Semiotics of Religious Experiences in Mystical Prose Texts

According to the importance of symbolism in mystical narratives, and of course to the existence of a need for them to be interpreted in order to understand the text and its narrative details, we have analyzed three authentic and effective works: initially Tazkirat al-Awliyā by Attar, secondly Kashf-ol-Mahjoob by Hojviri and at the end Resaleh of Ghoshairieh by Ghoshairi through a semiotic approach. The method of Charles Pierce is one of the most effective methods suitable for the narratives of mystical semiotics. He pays more attention to the importance of interpretation and explanation and emphasizes on referential function. So, using his method, we have studied the symbols of the religious experiences in three above-mentioned works. The symbols of religious experience narratives appear in two categories of Delight and Fear. The root of the delight experience, which is full of joy and happiness, is in the encounter of “You and I” to a sacred existence. The root of the fear experience, which is full of bewilderment and horror, is in the encounter of “You and We” to a sacred existence. The results of this research show that many of these multi- layer symbols have referential functions. There are several means of transmission and reflection for the feeling sacred existence and religious experience in different cultural horizons.