Comparative Study of Beautiful (Jamal) Names of God in the Mystical Texts of the Fourth and Sixth Centuries (A.H): The Cases of Kashf al-Mahjub and Rawh al-Arwah

In the mystic/gnostic texts and in theosophists’ teachings, the issue of God’s names holds a special status, particularly broader and more important than all other mystic themes. The discussion concerning the majestic attributes of Allah and the beautiful names of Allah, their manifestations, and the characteristic effects of each on the human soul have comprised a large part of mystical written works, in which Sufi-oriented authors have proposed their views on these matters. In this research, applying an analytical and descriptive approach, and after an investigation into the resources related to the history of the holy names of God and the mystics' viewpoints, two prominent books of the fourth and sixth centuries (Kashf al-Mahjub and Rawh al-Arwah) were selected to be examined at two literary and ideational levels. It can be apprehended that the mystical works of the fourth century were written in religious format, deploying formal, didactic and simple prose style of writing. However, parallel to mysticism’s movement from piety towards love, texts appear to enjoy more pictorial and structural abstraction and literariness through deploying metaphor, allegory and rhyme. On the other hand, Sam’ani’s deliberate effort in narrating mystical experiences is evident in Rawh al-Arwah; which makes it different from Kashf al-Mahjub in this regard. This is closely related to particular and coherent status of aesthetics in Rawh al-Arwah which is conveyed to readers through passionate expressions of love and mystical experiences, issue which is absent from Kashf al-Mahjub’s didactic discourse.