Mysticisim and Akhbarism in the Thought of Mirza Muhammad al-Akhbari An Investigation of Relation Between Ijtihad, Sufism, and Akhbari Movements in the First Half of the 13th Century AH.

Mirza Mohammad Akhbari (d. 1232 AH) is one of the Akhbari scholars who is known for his numerous works containing sharp criticism of Mujtahids. In the present research, a less-explored aspect of Mirza Muhammad Akhbari's ideas and works, which includes his mystical tendency, has been studied. This research also study impact of the intellectual context of the time (the first decades of the 13th lunar century) on his ideas. That time was the era of conflict between the three discourses of Ijtihad, Sufi and Akhbari. The questions of this research are: How was Mirza Mohammad Akhbari's connection with Sufism and mysticism? How this kind of connection has been manifested in his works? and to what extent mystical aspect of his thought has been affected by his Akhbarism? The results of the research indicate that Mirza Mohammad Akhbari’s positions on mysticism and Sufism were influenced by his hostile literature against the mujtahids. Mirza Mohammad Akhbari defends mysticism and criticizes Sufism, using the dualism of mysticism/sufism. He also wrote treatises on mystical wisdom and was in contact with Sufis. He likened Sufis to Mujtahids and mystics to Akhbarites and considered Sufis and Mujtahids to be similar to each other in their heresy and dependence on Sunnis. Furthermore, by defending Sufi figures that have been criticized by scholars, he has practically taken the side of Sufis in the debate between mujtahids and Sufis.