Saints and Sainthood from the View Point of Shams Tabrizi and Their Reflection in Rūmi's Mathnawi

As a matter of fact, saint and sainthood are among the most pivotal issues in the Islamic mysticism that have been widely discussed by many mystics. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest Muslim mystics was Shams al-din Muhammad Tabrizi who lived in the 7th century AH. Substantially affecting Rūmi’s attitudes, Shams founded a new school of mysticism. In his only literary work known as “Articles”, he has stated unchallenged and interesting opinions about various aspects of mysticism. The book is a disorganized collection of quotations from Shams. Due to lack of organization, it is so hard and time-taking to find a specific subject among so many sporadically included in the book. In this study, Sham Tabrizi’s approach and opinions about sainthood are explained, classified, and compared to the corresponding ideas of other mystics prior and contemporary to him. Also, the rate and influence of his ideas as reflected in Rūmi’s Mathnawi is investigated. Shams has put forth ideas of interest and novelty about sainthood unprecedented even in Rūmi’s works. This along with other issues such as saints’ characteristics, their covertness, and the way of recognizing them is dealt with in details in this paper.