Khajeh Ahmad Kasani Dehbidi: Politics in Sheikh Sufi’s Ideas and Practice

The distinct atmosphere characterizing Mongol rule did the groundwork for a shift in the informal belief systems such as Sufism in the vast territory of Iran. This atmosphere paved the way for the rise of Sufism from political isolation, and the emergence of various sects, which consequently provoked a revisiting of Sufi thoughts on political and social activism. Naqshbandi, which was founded in the ninth century AH thanks to the efforts of sheikhs such as Khajeh Obaidullah Ahrar in northeastern Iran, underwent changes, developed and persisted during the Sheibanian period under the theoretical and practical contributions of Khajeh Ahmad Kasani. The present study explores the distinctive political approach of Kasani and the main determinants of his approach. Informed by the findings of this study, the rivalry and antagonism of religious scholars toward Sufism in the first half of Sheibani rule, the modification of Sheibanian’s religious policy in the second half and the rivalry of Naqshbandi sheikhs for leadership following the collapse of the Timurids urged Kasani to change the conventional belief system of Sheibanian. The position that Kasani ascribed to the advocacy of Khan in the Sufi tradition was radically different from the traditional and cautionary view of the Naqshbandi sheikhs. The assignment of an ijtihad role to the Sufi sheikhs, the spiritual status of the khan, as well as the redefinition of the Khajegan’s tradition were among other changes introduced by Kasani.