نشریه معارف
سال بیست و چهارم شماره 1 (پیاپی 71، فروردین - آبان 1389)

Mysticism is the essence of all religions. Each and every religion has witnessed wayfarers who, in their pursuit of knowledge, have reached the illumination harem and acquired a profound knowledge. The fact that considerable similarities can be traced in the conditions and lives of great spiritual men of the world sometimes leads into discussions of mutual impact. Ibrahim Adham is one the sages who have numerous counterparts in the circle of world mystics, among whom Buddha and Saint Hubert share the most similarities with Ibrahim Adham. Thus, the author of this paper seeks to investigate and analyze the similarities shared by Ibrahim Adham, Buddha, and Saint Hubert.

As the pillars of the Persian literature, mystical works constitute a large part of Persian works. Rumi is one of the most prominent figures of mystical literature who owes his high rank to the words and views of past mystical works. Rumi's works are based on mystical discourse; the abundance of allusions and references; Quran verses and hadiths; Mystic sage's words; poetical themes, motifs, and images borrowed from Persian and Arabic literatures indicates that there are remarkable intertextual interactions in his works. This paper divides the mystic sage's words and practice referred to in Rumi's works into anthropological, epistemological, and theological categories in order to shed some light on his exploitation of them.

Throughout mankind's vacillating history, all civilizations have enjoyed regular interactions which have contributed to the development of cultural and social improvements. Despite its spectacular advances in the last couple of centuries, European civilization has been no exception and fallen under the influence of its neighboring cultures. Meanwhile, Islamic influence has had such tremendous impacts on modern European civilization that some authorities believe that its major elements have been transferred to Western Europe. During this process, al-Andulus has facilitated stable relations between Muslims and non-Muslims of different races. This article is an attempt to trace the transfer of Islamic civilization to Western Europe by reference to a myriad of English and Arabic sources. Among the factors playing a crucial role in this process are the dispatch of European students to al-Andulus, individual or collective trips of knowledge-seekers to this region, employment of Muslim scientists to establish Islamic-style schools and universities in Europe, translation movement and its role in transferring Islamic sciences and culture to Christian Spain. Therefore, it seems that the impact of al-Andulusian Islamic civilization on Europe has been tremendous, profound, and considerable.

Some historians of science believe that the scientist's consensus on an issue or theory lends it validity. On the other hand, there are some who hold the view that one should also consider the reasons behind the consensus. If they be financial, political, and the like, the consensus is no proof for validity. This view can be applied to the Shahnameh as Ferdowsi's contemporary poets, even long after his death, not only refused to recognize the epic as valuable and noteworthy but also reprehended it. This article is an attempt to establish that the consensus among Ferdowsi's contemporaries, in particular Onsori and Farrokhi, against the Shahnameh was based on financial and political considerations and are, therefore, not based on sound theoretical foundations.

As one of the invaluable heritages of Persian literature, the Divan of Khaqani Shirvani deserves an academic correction. Unfortunately, the publication industry has so far provided the readers with numerous versions and three famous corrections of the Divan which are still plagued by numerous errors. This article seeks to introduce (a) attention to rhetorical aspects and (b) attention to semantic and aesthetic symmetries as two criteria applied in academic correction. The author, then, adopts these criteria in his critical correction of the Divan in order to identify the shortcomings of two corrections done respectively by Sayyed Zia al-Din Sajjadi and Mir Jalal al-Din Kazzazi.

At present, knowledge-production maintains a close relation with Iranian national security. The country has no way but to produce knowledge in her battle against different challenges and backwardness. Otherwise, it will be devoured by the globalization trend and remain passive and vulnerable to all threats. In the knowledge-production arena, all sciences enjoy importance, but humanities deserve much more attention as the foundation of other sciences. While research and training are in poor condition in Iran, developed countries are attaching greater significance to them and reaping the benefits of knowledge-production in all areas. The necessity of knowledge-production is being increasingly recognized in religious studies thanks to the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran as the revolution claims to have established a regime based on spiritual values and Islamic rules. This is a large claim which must be put into practice. The authors of this article seek to study the approach of the divine ideas to knowledge-production.

The Harranians were a group of people who inhabited the city of Harran in ancient times. They were Syriac-speakers of Greek origin who practiced the cult of astrolatry (worship of heavenly bodies). The city has long been of political and religious importance. With the rise of Islam and Islamic conquest of Harran in early third century A.H., the Harranians refused to abandon their religion. However, they were forced to convert to Islam during Al-Mamun's reign and called themselves Sabians in order to survive in the Islamic community. This article sheds some light on Sabian's history, beliefs, and rites.