An Investigation and Critic of the Formation Origin of Mystical Literature in Islamic Civilization from the Perspective of Orientalists

Mystical literature is a part of the Persian poetic and prose heritage emerging under the spiritual influence of Islamic mysticism in Islamic history and civilization. It has been one of the favorite subjects of Orientalists. Research studies have been generally carried out based on Western research methods and not based on religious approaches. Therefore, the outcomes of Orientalists’ studies often differ from Muslims’ findings. In fact, unlike Orientalists, Muslim scholars analyze mystical literature within the religious arena. Therefore, this study implements descriptive and analytical methods to examine Orientalists’ various theories which are generally historical. Eventually, it presents Persian speaking and Muslim scholars’ viewpoints in this regard to maintain that using historical lens is not accurate and appropriate for explaining the formation origin of mystical literature. Because the connection between poetry and Islamic mysticism is a kind of non-historical, noetic and beyond time one.