Recognition of scholarly conduct from the view point of Attar Neishaboori and Imam Khomeini

Attar Neishaboori and Imam Khomeini, like other mystics have placed emphasis on the togetherness of knowledge and practice or scholarly conduct and maintain that the Mystic of Allah should as the precursor or the condition of conduct while acquiring the knowledge of conduct seek to become successful when acting within his conduct. For Attar, by knowledge, it is two bodies of knowledge of Sharia and knowledge of the Path where the former should be acquired through reference to the tradition of the Prophet, scholars, interpreters and the Narrators of Hadith and the latter needs to be learnt from the Sheikh of the Path. Except for these two bodies of knowledge, no other knowledge, including rational –either theoretically or practically- is credible. Imam Khomeini speaks of three types of knowledge; knowledge of theoretical theology, knowledge of morality or knowledge of self-purification and conduct in the way of God, knowledge of customs and traditions and bids to good and forbid from evil or the knowledge of Fiqh. The source of theoretical theology includes saints and the sage, the source of ethics or the knowledge of conducts includes scholars of morality and followers of austerity in addition to prophets and saints and the source of the Fiqh knowledge includes scholars and hadith narrators after the prophets. Hence, Imam, in addition to the knowledge of Sharia and that of the Path considers as credible the rational knowledge both practically and theoretically within the conducts and while they both lay emphasis on the knowledge of Sharia and knowledge of Path together, they are in disagreement with rational knowledge.