Sufism in Relation to the Culture and New Civilization in Iran: A Probe into Hajj Mulla Ali Nur Alishah Gunabadi’s Views

Sufism in relation to culture and civilization is one of the controversial issues among contemporary researchers. In this paper, after presenting the current controversial ideas on this topic in Iran and the key role of Sufis in the development of thoughts, culture, and Islamic civilization as well as condidering the manifestations of the new civilization and concepts in Iran in the Qajar era, the authors of the present paper discussed Sufi masters’ approach towards the culture and new civilization, as well as their related issues, which could be helpful in perceiving the relation between Sufism, culture, and civilization. Thus, in the current paper, the socio-cultural viewpoints of Nur Alishah Gunabadi as one of the great Sufi masters of Nimatullahi Sufi Order in Qajar era about the culture and new civilization, along with their related matters, were investigated. The researchers also pointed out some views of Sultan Alishah,  who was Nur Alishah Gunabadi’s father and Sufi predecessor. Consequently, Nur Alishah as a jurist mystic, who had comprehended the new culture and civilization, adjusted the religious viewpoints and circumstances of the new civilization to the cultural affairs of the new era with fidelity to genuine Islamic teachings.IntroductionSufism in relation to culture and civilization and their related issues in the Islamic world is one of the controversial topics among contemporary researchers. There are two different approaches related to the mentioned issue. On the one hand, there is a negative look at Sufism and mysticism considering them as causes of the decline of culture and Islamic civilization. On the other hand, advocates of the second approach believe that culture and civilization are some remarkable issues considered by Sufies, who have been always important characters for the developments of culture, as well as Islamic thoughts and civilization. According to the mentioned issues, as  that Qajar era could be claimed to be a period of recognition of Iranian culture and the new civilization for Persian scholars, the discussion on Sufi masters’ approach towards culture and the new civilization can be helpful in perceiving the relation between Sufism, culture, and civilization. Moreover, since Nimatollahi Sufi Order, which is one of the important Sufi orders with a strong background, has played an important role in Iran’s social circumstances in Qajar era, the researchers, for the first time, investigated the role of culture and new civilization based on the socio-cultural views of Hajj Mulla Ali Gunabadi known as Nur Alishah (A.H.L.1284-1337/A.D.1867-1918), one of the great Sufi masters of Nimatollahi Sufi Order. Since Hajj Mulla Ali Gunabadi was the son and Sufi successor of Hajj Mulla Sultan Mohammad Beidokhti known as Sultan Alishah (A.H.L.1251-1327/A.D.1835-1909), as well as the renewer of Nimatollahi Sufi Order, who was raised in his Sufi order, the researchers mention some of his juridical views as well. Materials & MethodsThe present study is a library research based on the main data in the library resources. Some of Hajj Mulla Ali’s manuscripts on socio-cultural issues in Qajar era were used in this regard. The current research used a descriptive-analytical method with reference to historical texts.Discussion of Results & ConclusionIn the current research, the researchers explained some clues about Hajj Mulla Ali Gunabadi’s interest in the culture and new civilization, as well as their related issues, thus showing his true perception of the domination of these issues on social etiquettes. Moreover, some contents of interest for learning the new sciences and technologies, along with Islamic sciences, were presented. The last part of the article dealt with Hajj Mulla Ali Gunabadi’s juridical views. He, like his father, avoided to issue juridical views as much as possible, but as a jurist mystic, he inevitably issued some of such views on some questions. The researchers mentioned three of these views of Nur Alishah on bigamy, narcotics, and slaveholding, which were related to the cultural changes and social issues in the new era. During this investigation, the researchers pointed out some of Sultan Alishah’s views on the prohibition of bigamy and opium as well. By referring to Islamic texts, such as Quranic verses and narrations, and due to the domination of cultural requirements in the society in the new era, it was found that Nur Alishah had had to issue these views exactly like his father and prohibit slaveholding. The result of the present study revealed that the new civilization and its different manifestations, such as development of science in the world, were some issues of Hajj Mulla Ali Gunabadi’s interest. He, like his father and other Sufi ancestors, believed that paying attention to culture and social progress was inevitable. Consequently, he tried to adjust the religious viewpoints and circumstances of the new civilization to the cultural affairs of the new era with fidelity to genuine Islamic teachings. Hence, this was a confirmation for some scholars’ views, who believed that not only Sufism and Sufis’ mystical teachings were not the reasons for the decline of civilization and an impediment to progress in the Islamic world, but also real Sufis made development of Islamic culture and progress of intellectual sciences in the Islamic world.