The Free slave (A Study on Connection between Freedom and Slavery in Islamic Mysticism and Divan of Hafez)

Although freedom and slavery are opposite concepts, they have real connection with each other in Islamic mysticism. Freedom and slavery have degrees and in any degree of devotee’s travelling and behavior, he achieves a portion of it and at the end finds out the real concept of slavery and freedom. Hafez states this in his Divan clearly and indicates that freedom is the result of true slavery manifestation. Hafez belives that there is just one way of slavery. He named it ‘lovely slavery’ which gives freedom to man. A Lover is a free man that releases himself from all limitations by slavery and becomes a free slave. This article examins some of sufia and mystic beliefs in terms of mental bases of connection between freedom and slavery in Islamic mysticism, it also studies lovely slavery concept, degrees of it and its relation with freedom from Hafez’s point of view.