A Comparative Analysis of al-Hallaj’s Portrait in Tazkirat al-Awliya and Kashf ul Mahjoob from Point View Of Mysticism

Hussein ibn Mansur al-Hallaj –bereaved mystic of 3rd (A.H.) century- has a high position in Sufism. In some Sufism books and treatises, have mentioned his sayings, spirits, and ideas and he has been criticized because of his Shath-like words –An al-hagh (means: I’m God)- commonly. Hujwiri in Kashf ul Mahjoob and Attar in Tazkirat al-Awliya have devoted one chapter of their books to his mention. This article tries to explore al-Hallaj portrait in these two books by the descriptive-analytical method and also a comparative point of view. This research concludes that Hujwiri has depicted the portrait of al-Hallaj which is not confirmed completely by him, because of his approach of Sahv. He just confirms al-Hallaj’s religion and miracles and believes that he isn’t Hululi and his sayings are capable of interpretation. On the contrary, Attar depicts the sacred portrait of al-Hallaj, because of his strong tendency to Sufism. He implicitly declares that al-Hallaj’s mistake is to make public God’s secrets.