Mysticism Studies in Literature

Abstract Comparative literary analysis enables a deeper understanding of how concepts are represented and reinterpreted across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. The adaptation of mystical ideas for young readers is especially significant, as adolescents are often unfamiliar with the language and style of classical mystic texts and usually require semantic localization to comprehend abstract concepts.
This qualitative study examines three adaptations of ʿAṭṭār's The Conference of the Birds—one in Persian, one in Turkish, and one in English—each written for a young audience with the aim of conveying mystical concepts to a new generation. The research explores similarities and differences in textual structure, linguistic features and register, narrative style, content transformation, and visual semiotics (including color, calligraphy, and illustrations). The findings indicate that each version employs a distinct strategy for meaning-making: The Persian adaptation remains highly faithful to the classical literary style of the source text; the Turkish version prioritizes simplified language and narrative fluidity to align with contemporary youth discourse; and the English adaptation introduces more extensive content modification to communicate mystical concepts to modern adolescent readers. The Persian and Turkish versions demonstrate closer alignment in cultural and linguistic components due to a shared Islamic cultural heritage. Across all three versions, the transmission of mysticism is achieved not only through lexical and narrative adaptation but also through an integrated semiotic system combining verbal and visual elements.

Abstract Mysticism possesses a special place in Persian literature. Rumi, Attar, and Imam Muhammad Ghazali are among the key mystical figures who have created great masterpieces in Persian literature. The present paper aimed to compare a work from French and a story from Persian literature. The story of Oscar and the Lady in Pink is a modern French story written by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt and the story of Reslat-Altair is a classic story written in Arabic by Imam Muhammad Ghazali. The paper focuses on the mentioned literary works to identify their similarities and differences and draw conclusions based on them. The current study uses library resources and the content analysis method. It is based on American-School which focuses on evidence drawn from the text understudy and the aesthetic values of the compared works. In this school, finding historical evidence has no place in data analysis. The main framework includes the seven stages of mystical journey mentioned in Attar’s Mantegh-al-tair: quest/desire, love, wisdom, detachment/self-determination, unity/monotheism, wonderment, poverty/indigence and annihilation/death. The findings suggested that almost all stages of mystical journeys in the works understudy were comparable. Despite some differences, there are many similarity points between the two stories. One of the main reasons of this similarity could be the belonging of the two works to the field of religious literature and their dealing with the common theme of “mystical journey”. Characteristics such as perfectionism, truth-seeking and common human spirit play a pivotal role in the emergence of such exquisite and comparable mystical works.

Abstract The meaning of life is a philosophical concept, and literature shares a common ground with philosophy, as their ultimate ends converge in the depths of "human existence." This study has selected, as its case study, an analysis of this philosophical concept in the poetry of Omar Khayyam, the great 11th-century Persian poet, whose work is inherently philosophical. This research seeks to investigate the philosophical interpretation of the category of 'the meaning of life' from the perspective of Omar Khayyam. It aims to answer the following question: What is the meaning of life according to a sage like Khayyam? Moreover, what are the characteristics of a meaningful life in his view? The nature of this research is applied. The methodology is analytical-descriptive, with data collected through library research. Data analysis is qualitative and employs a philosophical-mystical approach. The case study for this research is Khayyam's Rubaiyat. This seminal work was selected using a non-random, purposive sampling method. This study demonstrates that, from Khayyam's perspective, the meaning of life falls under the framework of subjective naturalism, which is considered a primary source for understanding meaning-creation. According to Khayyam, it is the individual human being who, based on their own mental framework, can bestow meaning upon life. Furthermore, regarding the ten principal components related to the meaning of life, his work offers strategies for making life more meaningful.

Abstract This study re-examines seven existing narratives of the encounter between Shams and Rumi, exploring the discourses embedded within them. The central research question is whether the dominant discourse in the texts is formulated to preserve ideological power relations within the layers of the social structure or to undermine and transform them. Employing a qualitative-quantitative method based on Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model (description, interpretation, and explanation), the author first analyzes the linguistic structure and features of the texts using Hallidayan Systemic Functional Grammar. It then proceeds to analyze the discourses articulated in the production and consumption of the texts, culminating in an analysis of the broader social context according to Fairclough's methodological principles.

The findings indicate that each narrative, by representing the developments arising from the hegemony of mystical discourse, introduces variations into the prevailing discursive order of the text, influenced by the authors' proximity to the location of the encounter. Furthermore, the degree of the authors' mystical and scholarly interactions is linked to their purposes and intentions in narrating the event. Among these, the most prominent component foregrounded in the discourse of all these texts, around which other elements are articulated, is the renunciation of formalistic and exoteric knowledge, which in any form or at any level can be misleading.

Abstract Iblis has been reflected in various ways in Persian classical literature, both poetry and prose. Some have approached this story negatively, aligning with the apparent Qur’anic teachings. Conversely, others have taken a positive perspective, viewing Iblis as a tragic hero defeated by fate an approach contrary to the Qur’an and the norms of classical society, influenced by Ash‘arite thought. Meanwhile, a group avoided taking a clear stance on Iblis. Attar is often placed in this latter category. However, this research argues that Attar, much like Hallaj and Ayn al-Qudat, predominantly defends Iblis in his poetry. Even in those verses that seem to align with a conventional Qur’anic understanding, traces of sympathy toward Iblis are evident, with Attar merely recounting the narrative.
In Attar’s poetic works, a portrayal of Iblis emerges that can be analyzed within the framework of Aristotelian tragedy. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, this study explores the core elements of tragedy and how they manifest in Iblis’s character and story. Through his works, Attar narrates events where Iblis, as a complex figure, plays a pivotal role. By his actions and choices, he creates circumstances that ultimately present him as a tragic hero, evoking empathy and sympathy in the audience, and resulting in spiritual catharsis and purification for the reader.

Abstract despite extensive researches about khaqani , the functional aspect of his sufism has been studied from the perspective of practical philosophy . the present article aims at reviewing khaqani's sufism as a lived experience and testable in the light of pragmatism 's criteria . the main purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities between the empirical realization of mystical teachings in khaqani's mysticism and the practical truth of belief in the philosophy of pragmatism . the research method is qualitative - comparative . the data are extracted from khaqani's prose and prose works and historical reports of historical biographical sources and based on three conceptual levels of " " outcome " " , " " usefulness " " and " " the realm of fulfillment " " . the findings show that khaqani's mystical teachings , such as solitude , solitude , love , poverty and immortality , have empirical and experiential functions and as far as they can work in the mental , moral and social life of man . his sufism , like james 's philosophical system , believes truth not in constant entities but also in the power of action , i.e. the result and the biological usefulness of faith . on this basis , khaqani's mysticism creates a system of " the practical truth of belief " in which meaning is fulfilled only in the context of experience and human life .

Abstract The term “heart of the world,” which is employed in Halford J. Mackinder’s political geography theory to explain the strategic significance of the central Eurasian regions, particularly Iran, appears earlier in Persian poetry and is reflected in Nizami Ganjavi’s Haft Peykar.This study, using a textual-analytical approach, demonstrates that mystical progression in Haft Peykar is grounded in geography. Specifically, three locations play a central role in the structure of the Haft Peykar, an aspect largely overlooked in previous interpretations:
The land of Iran, the realm of the “best,” representing a center of power;
The seven domes, which serve as spaces for worship and devotion; and
The cave, which symbolizes the protagonist’s (the ruler Bahram Gur) return to the spiritual realm and attainment of paradise at the conclusion of the narrative.
Mystical progression in Haft Peykar unfolds through the ruler’s experience (Bahram Gur’s lived poetic journey). While he attains the “best place” (the heart of the world) effortlessly, his spiritual journey requires effort, particularly within the seven domes and the cave. Through this progression, Bahram Gur successfully navigates a mystical-geographical path, ultimately achieving both geography of power and geography of meaning and union, and consciously relinquishing the former in favor of the latter, embarking on the journey to the cave and attaining paradise.

Abstract A comparative study of determinism in the thought of Spinoza and Iqbal—especially in light of Qur'anic teachings—is one of the profound and challenging topics in philosophy and theology. This article examines the contrasting views on freedom, determinism, and human agency in the philosophies of Baruch Spinoza and Muhammad Iqbal. While Spinoza presents a rational determinism grounded in metaphysical monism, Iqbal, drawing upon Islamic thought and particularly the Qur'an, offers a dynamic perspective on moral autonomy and spiritual identity. This research identifies the fundamental contrasts between these two worldviews in terms of their metaphysical assumptions, theological implications, and anthropological consequences. The analysis reveals how Iqbal’s Qur'an-based theocentrism, emphasizing the real and transformative nature of human freedom, critiques and transcends Spinoza’s rational determinism. Spinoza defines freedom as rational submission to necessity, Iqbal sees it as the active power to choose, create, and evolve in moral communion with God. This philosophical difference represents a profound metaphysical conflict and also points to fundamentally different understandings of what it means to be human.

Abstract After explaining the nature and pillars of Islam and faith, and issues such as knowledge, increase and decrease in faith, and examining the relationship between Islam and faith, we examined these topics using a descriptive-analytical method in Ibn Khafif's Risala al-Itiqad, Makki's Qut al-Qulub, and Bukhari's Sharh al-Ta'raf al-Mustamil. All three authors have introduced Islam as being contrary to faith and faith as the inner core of Islam. This may have its roots in the Sufi belief that they consider religion and doctrine to consist of Sharia, Tariqah, and Truth, with Sharia being its outer aspect and shell, and Tariqah being its inner path and conduct, and Truth being its result and fruit. Therefore, the Sufi view of faith is not consistent with theologians and jurists who consider faith to be merely the recitation of the two testimonies or the performance of obligatory duties; Rather, mystics and Sufis have considered faith to be the aspect of certainty that is created within a person by performing religious duties, obedience, worship, and avoiding forbidden things, and ultimately ends in the state of observation and kindness. The theological beliefs of the authors in question are consistent with the beliefs of the scholars of Hadith and some Ash'arites, and in some cases they are also consistent with the views of Abu Hanifa and Matridiyya or some Imamiyya scholars.

Abstract “The issue of God’s anthropomorphism and transcendence is fundamental to theology and Kalam-Sufi epistemology, as a correct understanding of monotheism is impossible without grasping it. This fundamental importance has led to numerous debates and controversies throughout the history of Islamic thought, resulting in the formation of various sects based on this matter. Therefore, in this research, we have sought to identify the approaches to anthropomorphism and transcendence within Islamic theology and Kalam-Sufi epistemology. By examining significant theological and mystical sources, we have extracted four prominent approaches in addressing the problem of God’s anthropomorphism and transcendence: 1. anthropomorphic approach; 2.transcendent approach; 3. intermediate approach of transcendence and anthropomorphism; 4. approach of combining transcendence and anthropomorphism. Furthermore, with the aim of a more precise understanding and explanation of these approaches, we have also explored the relationship between the divine essence and attributes. Accordingly, proponents of anthropomorphism posit a relationship of “otherness” and “superfluity”, while proponents of transcendence emphasize “identity” and “viceroyalty”. The Ash’arites suggest a relationship of “subsistence”– where attributes are neither the essence nor separate from it – and the mystics advocate for a “combination of identity and otherness.” Specifically, from the perspective of the mystics, the relationship between the divine essence and attributes is based on “essential identity and conceptual otherness.” Mystics’ view on anthropomorphism and transcendence demonstrates greater compatibility with the Quran, Hadith, and religious scriptures in general, offering a more comprehensive and clearer explanation of this topic. this comprehensive perspective effectively facilitates the interpretation of seemingly contradictory narrations.”