The ‘Journey’ in the First Mystical Tradition based on Attar ‎Neishaburi’s Ideas

The journey has always been one of the topics of mysticism and Sufism, and mystics have long traveled to purify themselves. In fact, mysticism and Sufism are kinds of journey and experience in which one feels God in himself, while he is in a nonsense status. Many of the famous Sufi figures have combined Afaq and Anfos (Extrovertive and Introvertive journeys) and used the apparent journey as an introduction to the inner journey. On the other hand, in most of Sufism books, parts or sections are devoted to the apparent journey and expression of its customs and conditions. Since Islamic teachings have paid special attention to journey, the mystics and Sufis have also paid attention to this matter in their works and speeches. With a careful look at the works of Attar Neishaburi, a very important point manifested is that Attar in his works has experienced some kind of Extrovertive and Introvertive journeys, and even sometimes tries to describe a glimpse of what he has seen in these journeys. This descriptive-analytical study attempted to analyze the ‘journey’ in the mystical texts, and its customs, conditions, and accessories based on Attar’s poetic and prose works. The results of the study showed that the main purpose of the journey is to oppose sensual whims, to nurture and transform its vicious traits into pleasing traits, which are pursued more seriously in Extrovertive and Introvertive journeys than in any other ones