Classification and review of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabili’s Karāmāt in Ibn Bazzaz's Safwa al-Safai

Reporting and narrating the Sheiks’ Karāmāt (sing: Karāmat, refers to supernatural wonders or miracles performed by Muslim Saints) are among the most important subjects in the prose works of Sufism particularly Manaqibnamehs which are written in an elaborate language. Numerous texts have been left from these types of Sufi works. Safwat al-Safa written by Ibn Bazzaz Ardabili is considered as one of the most detailed and important Manaqibnamehs in the history of Sufism. The original name of the book is Al-Mawahab al-Sunniyyah fi al-Manaqib al-Safawiyya which is written upon request of Sheikh Safi's son, Sadr al-Din Hasan, whose narratives make up a substantial part of book's content. Ibn-Bazzaz wrote this book gradually and finalized it in 759 AH. Safwat al-Safa is comprised of an introduction along with twelve chapters, each divided into several sections. Five chapters of the book are about the Karāmāt of Sheikh Safi-ad-din. The second and third chapters are dedicated to the explanation of the Sheikh's Karāmāt that happened on the land and the sea. The fifth chapter describes the Karāmāt of the Sheikh in relation to the daemons. The seventh chapter is an exposition of various sorts of Sheikh’s Karāmāt, and the tenth chapter refers to the Sheikh’s postmortem Karāmāt. The main issue of this study is to investigate, review, and classify Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s Karāmāt based on the concepts and themes that shape the dominant aspect of his Karāmāt.


This study is conducted in a descriptive-analytical method on the basis of library sources. The authors are concerned with several topics. Firstly, Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s life history and the overall circumstances of his life, which have been summarized based on reliable old sources, are discussed. The introduction of the book Safwat al-Safa, that was also summarized, comes next. However, the main subject of the study is dedicated to classification and review of Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s Karāmāt based on Ibn Bazzaz’s accounts in his book Safwat al-Safa. To this end, all the Karāmāt in this text were extracted and classified under various types and categories based on different subjects and notions. To delineate Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s character, while pointing out to the similarity of his Karāmāt to those of other Sufis, a few Karāmāt are briefly mentioned under each type or category, and the statistics of all the Karāmāt are given in the final table.
 


Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s Karāmāt are chronologically divided into three categories, The Karāmāt before his birth, Karāmāt during his lifetime, and postmortem Karāmāt. In his scarcely occurred pre-birth Karāmāt, his appearance as the reviver of Sharia and Tariqa is heralded in different ways. Most Karāmāt of Sheikh Safi-ad-din, with a frequency of 574 honors, are related to his lifetime. Being informed of the unseen world and communication with it, taking possession of the living beings, and transforming the nature ‒ each of which classified in different types ‒ are among the most prominent categories of these unearthly powers assigned to him. Knowledge of the invisible world, which is a sign of his spiritual maturity, and communicating with the transcendental world are considered as the most numerous Karāmāt attributed to him. One of the most distinguished types of these Karāmāt is his command of people’s internal thoughts and feelings. Another subcategory of this type of supernatural power is knowledge of the dreams of his followers which he interpreted. Being informed of the past, present and future incidents is also part of the Karāmāt of knowledge of the invisible world. He had a strange power to inform his followers of their sins in order to teach them lessons. He was also simultaneously aware of some distant or nearby accidents. Another category of his Karamat was awareness of lost objects that needs an unearthly ability to locate them. A different sort of supernatural power in this category of Karāmāt was knowing whether the properties and food were ritually clean and legitimate.
     One of the pivotal types of Karāmāt, during Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s lifetime, was communicating with the invisible world which was a sign of his connection with the transcendental world and confirms his highly spiritual position. Seeing the invisible world which often happens in the form of seeing the angles and the dead or communicating with the daemons, is a major type of this power. Another type of this power of communication with the invisible world is being able to hear the invisible caller which is assumed to indicate that the sheikh has reached to a paramount spiritual level and is connected to transcendental world. Summoning objects from the unseen world is another type of this kind of Keramat. Tay al-Arz (covering long distances in a twinkling of an eye) which is actually an expression of overcoming physical obstacles and the geographical determinism, is one of the different forms of the communication with the invisible world.
     Having Command on living things was an important type of Karāmāt in Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s life. One of the significant sorts of this mystical power, which he is said to widely applied, was healing the sick. Saving people from danger and imprisonment was another facet of this supernatural power. In these types of narratives those who were imprisoned, tortured or caught in looting are saved by the sheikh. Among the other manifestations of possession in living things is the extraordinary attraction, guidance and education of disciples, which has also been narrated in the stories of other mystics. The subject of an important part of the sheikh's coercive Karāmāt is the punishment of enemies and deniers. Such Karāmāt, which are manifestations of the sheikh's wrath and zeal, sometimes ended in punishment and sometimes in disciplining and guiding the disciple.
     One of the most important types of Karāmāt performed by Sheikh Safi is the mastery over nature and its elements, which in narratives has been ascribed to other mystics as well. In this type of power, the elements of nature and its laws are under the control of the sheikh, and he comes to the aid of the disciples by overcoming the natural obstacles. One of the types of Karāmāt related to nature is the spiritual connection with animals. In these Karāmāt, domestic and wild animals carry out his intentions, under the spiritual will of the sheikh. The physical strength of the sheikhs is actually a form of mastery over nature and overcoming its obstacles. Such miracles about the strange physical strength of Sheikh Safi-ad-din have also been narrated. Part of Sheikh Safi-ad-din's Karāmāt is related to the time after his death. It is believed that at the time of his death, the sky darkens and cries were heard from unknown place, and during ghusl, he moves to help the person giving ghusl to him. His body turns towards the Qibla and his tomb shines.
 


Understanding Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s life and works is important from two aspects. First, he is a follower of Sheikh Zahed Gilani who is one of the recognized Sheiks having a special position in the Sufism dynasties. Second, Safi-ad-din is considered as the ancestor of the Safavid dynasty, and the kings and rulers of this dynasty have gained their spiritual legitimacy from his position, status, and authority. Although the description of Shaykh Safi-ad-din Ardabili’s life and works are found in various sources, the most important source of knowledge about him is Safwat al-Safa, that is significant because it contains the Karāmāt related to him. This text, containing 718 items of Karāmāt about Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili from before his birth to after his death, is a rare text from the viewpoint of the number and variety of the Sheikh’s Karāmāt. Before his birth he has a few Karāmāt, but they are important in terms of adding a spiritual and unearthly aspect to his personality. Most of the Karāmāt are related to his life time. Knowledge of the invisible world, communication with the unseen, having command on souls and controlling animate and inanimate nature are the most remarkable types of special power each of which including various types ascribed to him during his life time. Some of the postmortem Karāmāt are also related to him. The author of Safwat al-Safa and the researchers of this study have tried to depict a holy image of Sheikh related to the unearthly world. The picture of Sheikh Safi-ad-din in Safwat al-Safa is the picture of a saint immersed in light, aware of the invisible world and connected to it, whose hand is open to the world and human being without any restrictions.