مجله کاشان شناسی
سال یازدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 21، پاییز و زمستان 1397)

This research aims to do a content review on the materials printed and published in “Kalamat-e Anjoman” about the history of Kashan. This study also assesses these materials using archival documents in order to confirm or refute the contents. This research used a descriptive/analytical method and the data were obtained from “Kalamat-e Anjoman” and archival documents. Findings show that Abdolrasol Madani’s, the book’s author, narrative of the social, economic, and political situation of Kashan during the Qajar era is close to the facts in the past; this is confirmed and corroborated by archival documents, hence his credible reports. This fact-checking study determines Abdolrasol Madani’s adopting a comprehensive view, paying heed to the lives of the underprivileged, even their daily habits such as smoking huka and opium, improper decorum, etc.

Today, Mohtasham urban area in Kashan does not benefit from a suitable condition and has lost its importance over the last decades. The vast majority of the local inhabitants of this historical area have left their homes and have been replaced by weak and underprivileged dwellers of the urban community. Moreover, historical buildings have been demolished or worn out structurally, and local markets fail to conduct profitable business anymore. The root cause of these problems seems to be the alterations made to the urban spatial structure, which is a corollary of contemporary urban development and also the status change of this historical urban area in today’s city. This research studies the effect of these alterations on Mohtasham urban area, and in particular, one of its most important passages- between the shrine of Mirneshaneh to the Mohtasham tomb. Using the Space Syntax method, this study performed topological analyses of Kashan in three different periods. Findings indicate that the developmental changes and the construction of new streets have not followed the spatial patterns and structure of the city so that despite an increase in the average measure of connectivity and the global integration of Kashan over the past 100 years as well as a decrease in the measure of depth in this city, the very newly-constructed streets have solely undergone these changes. The study of Mohtasham historical area shows that not only the measure of connection for historical passages of the mentioned area and its integration has not increased, it has also declined; and the closer we get to the central parts of this area, the decrease would be sharper. Also, the results of the study indicate that the central part of this area is located at a great depth. Such a change has disturbed the integrated and homogeneous structure of the urban area of Mohtasham, hence its isolation and the gradual destruction of the buildings. Most importantly, it has led to a decrement in the social status of the related neighborhoods.

The annual ritual of Nakhl Bardari in the Mount Sefid’s Shrines in the village of Wash involves rich mythical elements. The mythical axis of the ritual is the absence of a number of religious saints in the shrines of olia-allah and Ka’beh Koochak of Mount Sefid, which has a fundamental resemblance to the theme of the “Myth of Daughter’s Absence” in the Iranian plateau. The myth associated with the dream, the absence of the pursuit of goodness, and the sacred status of the source or spring. The abovementioned belief also forms the centerpiece of the Mount Sefid’s Shrines so that the Nakhl as a casket is moved from the village to the shrines annually on Safar 28th (AH). This rite implies ancient beliefs and is rooted in Iranian faiths. The different mix of organizers is also interesting, with the presence of Abuzeydabad residents coming from far off the plains to commemorate their migration between the Karkas Mountain’s countryside and the desert of Abuzeydabad. The set of beliefs and rituals of Mount Sefid and its shrines is very similar to the Iranian ritual of cattle sacrifice or rainmaking on the 36th day of the spring in Esfanjan, East Azerbaijan.

Zein al-Din Abdul Salam Kamo’ee (696 AH) was one of the unknown mystics of the late seventh and the early eighth centuries. He was famed for attributes and appellations such as “Zein al-Din” (i.e. the ornament of the religion), “Sheikh of Iraq”, and “the King of Kamoo”. At forty years of age, Abdul Salam experiences some spiritual changes due to austerity and seclusion and since then he seeks for sciences, mysticism, and cosmology. In Tariqa (a school or order of Sufism), Kamooee was a disciple of Shaykh Shahab al-Din Umar Suhrawardi- the author of Awarif ul-Maarif (book)- and could give guidance to others with his permission; it seems that Suhrawardi also devoted special attention to him. This discipleship made Abdul Salam engender thoughts and mystical poetry mirroring those of Suhrawardi’s- averting his eyes from anything relevant or close to the theoretical mysticism of Ibn Arabi and his followers, and even at times to oppose them. Notwithstanding the paucity of sources and references, the writer of this paper has tried, for the first time, to introduce Abdul Salam’s life and mystical thoughts as well as his poetry collection, accentuating elements and concepts such as ‘the significance of patience and tranquility in conduct’, ‘hope and trust in God’s grace’, ‘mystic’s life of seclusion and ephemerality of the mundane life’, and ‘the distinction between obedience and worship’.

“Misbah ul-Hidaya and Miftah ul-Kifaya” is one of the most famous works of Izzuddin Mahmood Bin Ali Kashani, the sixth century (AH) mystic. The author of this book first describes the religious beliefs and then elaborates on mystical customs and Sufism. References to Persian and Arabic poetry, and using verses of the Quran, Hadiths, and employing rhetorical figures are among the stylistic features of this book which attest to the flair of the author. Each text begins with a short introduction and then proceeds to a detailed description while making references to Hadiths and verses of the Quran. One of the positive points of this book is the cohesive approach the author adopts to maintain the relevance of the materials contained in the book with the main subject. Regarding the literary, sociological, historical, and mystical importance of this book, the present article has used a qualitative method to do methodological criticism on this book. Methodological criticism provides the researcher with studying the author’s method along with doing a more precise content analysis.

Evaluating the evidence, texts, and works obtained from the 7th and 8th centuries (lunar calendar) on Kashan in terms of its intellectual, thought, and cultural aspects, we can consider these centuries among brilliant school-making ages. This paper studies the root foundation and existence of a philosophical-mystical school in Kashan in these two centuries while focusing on the works of four scholars. In addition, this study examines the socio-cultural contexts influencing the formation and recognition of this school both in terms of those of old and those of later times, while noting its present implications.