The Development of Saint-Ship (Velāyat) Thought in Islamic Mysticism

The noble principle of ‘saint-ship’ is one of the main axes of Islamic Sufism and Gnosticism. The need of wayfarer to the help and guidance of a perfect master (shaykh) and saint in the complex mystical journey has constantly been emphasized in educative books of Sufism – whether prose or poem. Hakīm Termāzī is the first Sufi to introduce the concept of saint-ship within the form of a theory and an intellectual system. However, Mohī al-Dīn Ibn Arabī was the one who systematized this theory in a complete and comprehensive manner.The present paper aims at presenting the evolution of saint-ship thought and its related discussions based on the most important prose books of Sufism, and in some cases the poems of prominent Gnostic figures. It covers the theories on saint-ship from third century hejri to the contemporary time that is the beginning of the Constitution. Study of Ibn Arabī and his disciples, related to the al-Andalus school, is due to the importance of Ibn Arabī in the realm of Islamic mysticism and his focus on the perfect human and master.