Manifestation of Mystical Sincerity in the Mirror of the States of Spiritual Journey

This study analyzes the mystical attribute of sincerity in terms of the states of spiritual journey in some of the most important mystical works up to the ninth century A.H. This study, in a descriptive-analytical method, shows that sincerity, in the words of some mystics, has undergone content transformation in each of the three levels of spiritual journey. As in the first state of the journey (differentiation), it has a positive nature, requiring effort. At this level, the seeker strives to take on moral virtues and avoid moral vices, and is known as purifying (mukhliṣ). In the second state (annihilation), the Divine attraction annihilates the seeker from their metaphorical existence and all their attributes. Therefore, sincerity in the mystic finds a negative sense, meaning that they are no longer assumed as purifying, but as purified (mukhlaṣ). In the third state (persistence), the mystic becomes the manifestation of the Divine attributes and names. Hence, sincerity after being negated in the second level, again finds a positive but evolved meaning. Also, the trait of purifying here is allowed to be attributed to both God and the mystic. The results of this study shows that although most mystics’ statements about sincerity are consistent with the characteristics of the differentiation state, some others’ words extend sincerity to the states of annihilation and persistence, too.