Methodological Criticism of Misbah ul-Hidaya and Miftah ul-Kifaya

“Misbah ul-Hidaya and Miftah ul-Kifaya” is one of the most famous works of Izzuddin Mahmood Bin Ali Kashani, the sixth century (AH) mystic. The author of this book first describes the religious beliefs and then elaborates on mystical customs and Sufism. References to Persian and Arabic poetry, and using verses of the Quran, Hadiths, and employing rhetorical figures are among the stylistic features of this book which attest to the flair of the author. Each text begins with a short introduction and then proceeds to a detailed description while making references to Hadiths and verses of the Quran. One of the positive points of this book is the cohesive approach the author adopts to maintain the relevance of the materials contained in the book with the main subject. Regarding the literary, sociological, historical, and mystical importance of this book, the present article has used a qualitative method to do methodological criticism on this book. Methodological criticism provides the researcher with studying the author’s method along with doing a more precise content analysis.