A Strategic Study on Foreign Fund Utilization in

Burhan Journal of Qur'anic Studies ISSN 2383-2932 (Online) Vol 01, No.01, 2016

www.academicpress.org

Mystical interpretation of the Qurʿān Seyed AmirHossein Asghari [email protected] Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Indiana University, USA

Abstract: Interpretation of the verses of Qurʿān, has a history back to the early revelation. Muslims believe that Qurʿān is the word of God, which is revealed to Muhammad, and therefore, understanding the real purpose of the Qurʿān, is vital. Reading the Qurʿān, for traditional Muslims was not like reading a scientific or historical text, it was rather encountering with a metaphysical reality that is formulated in the form of the letters, words, verses and chapters with the goal of educating man to realize his/her potential faculties in becoming what he/she is created for. In this encounter with a sacred reality that connected them to the both visible and invisible realm, they sought to find out the core meaning of the revealed message. The text in a way was such as a mirror in which everyone who tried to look at it saw himself. If he/she was a philosopher, jurist, theologian or a Sufi, he was interpreting through his own terms. As Shams-iTabrīzīdescribes it in his Maqālāt: For the travelers and the wayfarers, each verse of the Koran is like a message and a love-letter [ʿishq-nāma]. They know the Koran. He presents and discloses the beauty of the Koran to them.

1

If for the wayfarer (Sālīk) it is a love-letter, for jurist it seemsmore to be source of law, or for philosopher a book to find arguments. Commentators on the Qurʿān from the beginning of Islam to the present day have shown us the mirror in which they saw it and shared its content with us. As noted above, the Qurʿān for Sufis was a love-letter. Not only the Qurʿān, rather the act of creation according to Sufism is result of love. 1

Sufis mostly narrate the following tradition to allude to the reason of

Chittick, In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought, 2012, pp. 58-9

Page | 28 www.academicpress.org



creation: “I was a hidden treasure; I loved to be known. Hence I created the world so that I would be known.” 2 Within the essentiality of love for Sufism, and also the necessity of knowing the creature, when a Sufi reads the Scripture, he sees a love letter in which God addresses man on how to find the path to the eternal abode. According to Sufi interpretation, the one who created the world out of love has sent man a love-letter. As it is written by love, it should be read with love.

Keywords: Qurʿān, Interpretation, Mysticism, Sufism, Ta’wīl

Mysticism, Sufism

communion with ultimate

The term “mystic” according to some, refers to

reality reported by mystics

something that is hidden or concealed. In

2: the belief that direct

religious language it alludes to ““hidden”

knowledge

allegorical interpretations of Scriptures and to

spiritual truth, or ultimate

hidden presences” 3. There is however, a term

reality can be attained

like mystical experience that in a wide sense

through

according to Gellman and Zalta refers to

experience (as intuition or

“granting acquaintance of realities or states of

insight)

affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way

3 a: vague speculation: a

of sense perception, somatosensory modalities,

belief without sound basis

or standard introspection.” 4

b : a theory postulating

Webster's Third edition gives three definitions

the possibility of direct and

as follow:

intuitive

acquisition

of

the experience of

ineffable

knowledge

or

mystical union or direct

power. 5

1 :

2

Majlisi, 1404 H, p. 199

3

Gellman, Jerome, Edward N. Zalta, 2014

4

Gellman, Jerome, Edward N. Zalta, 2014)

5

Webster, 2014


of

God,

subjective



As William Chittick shows in “mysticism in

For its strong negative connotations some

Islam,” if one accepts the first meaning of the

authors prefer to use the term Sufism in Islamic

Webster’s account of mysticism, then “Surely

content, rather than using the term mysticism. 8

those who have any sympathy with religion

Then Sufism in Islam is a theoretical and

would agree that religion, without some sort of

practical tendency to ascetics, love, poverty

communion with ultimate reality, would have

(faqr) in one’s communication with God and

nothing to distinguish it from a merely human

knowledge of Him (ma’rifah) through self-

construction.” in

its

6

very

In this definition as religion foundation

connects

or

knowledge. Therefore: Scholars associated with

communicates with the ultimate reality or God,

Sufism

then religion will be equal to mysticism, and as

distinctive

many people who follow religion in one way or

With good reason, their

another seek to communicate with the ultimate

approach has often been

reality, then it is not a “vague speculation” as

called

defined in the third stage by Webster, for if it is

Webster's

then religion per se is a vague speculation.

definition

Therefore,

“The

tells us that it can mean

experience of communion with ultimate reality

"the doctrine or belief that

lies at the foundation of religion, and the quest

direct knowledge of God,

for such communion has always motivated the

of

religiously

speaking,

practice of religious people.”

7

In this sense

mysticism lies in the heart of religion.

6

developed

a

methodology.

"mystical." second of

spiritual

mysticism

truth,

or

ultimate reality . . . is attainable

through

Chittick, Mysticism in Islam, 2003

7


8

. For a fine explanation of this usage, see: Chittick, William,

Mysticism and Islam, A lecture delivered at the David M.


Kennedy Center forInternational Studies, Brigham Young University, May 2003.



intuition,

theQurʿān in a wide range is mystical. In

insight, or illumination and

contrary, some scholars such as Ignaz

in a way differing from

Goldziher (1850-1921) tend to interpret the

ordinary sense perception

mystical reading of Qurʿān as, “the reading of

or

This

one’s own ideas into a text”. In other word, he

certainly

means that the Qurʿān not only has no

characteristic of the Sufi

mystical/inner aspects; rather whatever Sufis

approach to understanding

attributed to the Qurʿān as mystical or spiritual

God and the world. 9

meaning is their own readings that has no

immediate

ratiocination."

doctrine

is

Sufis, based on their understanding of the

origin in Qurʿān. According to this view

Qurʿān and prophetic narrations, have stressed

attributing a mystical dimension to Qurʿān is a

that the words of Qurʿān have both inner and

biased reading of the text. On the other hand,

outer sides. One should not stop in reading the

scholars such as Louis Massignon, (1883-1962)

book in its outer meaning;rather should try

and Paul Nwyia in their research tried to show

hard to gain the inner meaning.

how mystical reading of the Qurʿān is result of

“Since Sufism represents the inner aspect of

“a

dialogue

between

personal,

mystic

Islam its doctrine is in substance an esoteric

experience, and the text of the Qurʿān

commentary on the Qurʾān.”

Meanwhile

Sands alludes “Both Massignon and Nwyia

they stress that their reading of Qurʿān is not

insisted that the Qurʿānic text remains primary

neglecting the outer meaning; rather it is a way

for the Sufi; that is to say, the Muslim mystic

from outward to inner aspects.

does not impose his own ideas on the Qurʿānic

10

11

As

text, but rather discovers ideas in the course of Qurʿān’s Mystical aspects

his experiential dialogue with the text.”

If mysticism alludes to inner aspects, then

fact according to Goldziher, mystical or Sufi

9

11

Sands, 2006, p. 2

12

Sands, 2006, p. 2

10

Chittick, 2003 Burckhardt, 2008


12

In



reading of the Qurʿān has appeared in the latter

Hanbalites, they believed

history of Islam and thereupon it is alien to it.

that God has given his last

This approach in a way searches to find any

word

witness in the early Islamic history or in the

transmitting through the

Qurʿān to show that whether Islam supports the

Koran and the Sunna all

Sufi reading or not. It however contains

that He wished them to

historical methodology in Islamic studies, on

learn, and that this final

the other hand it lakes the comprehensive

revelation is intelligible to

understanding of it. In this reading finding a

anybody without special

historical document may prove a dimension of

knowledge.” 13

to

humans

by

Islam, while not finding it causes its denial.

As shown above, historical reading may deny

Historical encountering with the Sacred is not

mystical understanding of the Qurʿān. One way

always helpful, especially when one ponders

to have a more accurate reading is the

upon the mystical concepts. Qurʿān may lead

phenomenological approach. In this approach

to spirituality but may not use the term Sufism,

even if the term Sufism, has appeared in the

historical studying of Islam, in such a way may

latter Islamic history, still one cannot ignore the

deny the mystical aspect of Qurʿān or Islam.

mystical aspects of Qurʿān. This is for the fact

Not only in some Western reading of the

that

Qurʿān, but within the Muslims scholarship of

Qurʿān/Islam and mysticism/ Sufism is not

the Qurʿān, there has been disagreement of the

assessed through asking questions such as

Sufi reading of the Scripture:

whether mysticism could be a state within the

“For Ebn al-Jawzī and Ebn Taymīya was

ʿelm

an

innovation; 13

Radtke, 1988


other

analyzing

states

of

the

Islam.

relation

Later

between

historical

al-bāṭen

appearance of an idea or way of thought does

inadmissible

not necessarily mean that it is not derived from

like

all

Islam or has no dependence to the primary



If in the nature and phenomenon of

except God," it is the implicit verses whose

Islam, i.e. its reality, one can find the essence

interpretation (ta’wīl) is known only to

of Sufi understanding, even if Sufism as a term

God.”

source.

15

has appeared only in the later Islamic period,

The Arabic wordta’wīl is driven from a-w-

yet it dose not mean that Sufi reading of the

l, a root that means returning to the original.

Qurʿān is “the reading of one’s own ideas into

Generally, inQurʿānic sciences it also has two

a text”.

meanings.The first one refers to justifying the ambiguous (Mutashabih)_that is providing an

Mystical reading of the Qurʿān

intellectual meaning for it. The Interpreter in

Early generation of Muslim scholars

this case refers the ambiguous to a direction

according AllāmaTabātabā’ī used the word

that is harmonious with its meaning. This is

Ta'wīl(Qurʿānic hermeneutics) to refer to

like what is (18:78) in the story of Moses and

commentary or tafsīr. 14There is considerable

al-Khiḍr,: “I will inform you about the

disagreement

of

interpretation(ta’wīl) of that over which you

exegesis, ta'wīl, and it is possible to count

could not maintain patience.” In this example,

more than ten different views. There are,

al-Khiḍr tries to inform Moses of the secrets of

however, two views which have gained

things that he was not able to understand and

general acceptance. The first one is that of the

had no patience for them. Therefore

early generation of scholars who used the

justifyingthe ambiguous words or actions is

word exegesis, ta'wiīl, as a synonym for

calledta’wīl and thus the first meaning of ta’wīl

commentary, or tafsir.

is merely to unveil theambiguous verses of the

as

to

the

meaning

Tabātabā’īagrees that “According to this viewall

Qur'anic

open

According to the second definition,ta’wīl

to ta'wilalthough according to the verse,

includes a meaning that the outer aspect of

"nobody knows its interpretation (ta’wīl)

the verse does not mention and the

14

15

Tabataba'i, 1987


verses

are

Qurʿān.

Tabataba'i, 1987, p. 54



interpreter deduces it from an external

primary domains of human

argument. Therefore it is called esoteric

concern. These can be

(bātinī)just as the first meaning of the verse is

called body, mind, and

called exoteric (Ẓāhirī). Ta’wīl, as it is defined

spirit; or doing, knowing,

in the second definition, includes all the

and being. The body is the

Qurʿānic verses, not only the ambiguous ones

realm of activity, ritual

as mentioned in the first definition. Sufis by

observance,

referring to the layers and levels of the reality

relationships. The mind is

and existence, apply the same levels for the

the realm of perceiving,

verses of Qurʿān.

As the Qurʿān puts it: “He

believing, knowing, and

is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the

understanding. The spirit is

Hidden.”(57:3)Therefore, his book has such

the realm of the deepest

levels.

awareness of self and of

Like

the

Qurʿān’sstress

on

gaining

and

direct communion

social

with

knowledge and understanding, prophetic

ultimate reality, which is

traditions (hadith) also follow the same path:

God, or true and real

"The search for knowledge is incumbent upon

Being. 16

everyMuslim, male and female."

As mentioned above, mystics/Sufis in Islamic

Asserting the unity of God and communicating

tradition sought to find the real purpose of the

with Him is not possible unless one

revelation. Sufi literature indicates that Qurʿān

knowswhom is he/she talking to or worshiping.

has been revealed to educate man and show

If the subject of knowledge is the ultimate

him

reality then;

ĀyatullāhKhomeinī

16

the

path

of

his/her

perfection.

(1902-1989),

while

like any great religion,

indicating that his interpretation is only a

Islam

possible interpretation of the Qurʿān, (Light

addresses



three



Within Me)in one of his mystical works alludes

Allah. Even our great

to this point:

commentators

the

If we do look at its teaching

Qur'an are very much

and educational side, we

concerned about one or

concern ourselves with its

another of the said affairs,

eloquence and syntax and

without opening the door

its miraculous aspects, or

of learning to the people. 17 Nevertheless,

engage ourselves with its

according to Sufism, aside from ones

history, the occasions of

mastering in sciences of Qurʿān,

the revelation of the āyahs,

requires self-purification in order to

the

make one able to receive the lights of

times

of

their

āyahwas Mecca

revealed and

a

proper

ta’wīl

even somewhat higher, we

revelation, which sūrahor

the inner aspects of Qurʿān.

in

which

in

A short historical background (from 8th to

Medina, the differences in

12century)

recitations

the

Bāṭin or inner is opposite of outer or ẓāhir.

exegeses of the Sunnis and

BothBāṭinand ẓāhir are among God’s Most

the

other

beautiful names (al-Asmaʾ al-Husnā). The

secondary affairs which

Qurʿān describes God asal-ẓāhir wa’l-bāṭin.

are

main

(57:3)Sufis by mentioning some narrations of

they

Muhammad (sw) believe that the first person

themselves cause us to be

who ascribed to have inner and outer sides to

barred from the Qur'an and

the Qurʿānwas Prophet himself. Ibn Masʿud

to neglect remembering

has narrated from Muhammad that he said

and

Shī'ah

outside

objective

17

of

Khomeini, 1996, p. 124


and

the and

in



Qurʿān has both Bāṭin and ẓāhir:

`Ali, the son-in-law of Muḥammad, and the

The messenger of God

first Imām of the Shi’ite Islam also ascribes

said, “The Qurʿān was

Qurʿān for having the inner and outer sides. He

sent down in seven ahruf

mentions that “Certainly the outside of the

[letters].Each harf[letter]

Qur'an is wonderful and its inside is deep (in

has a back (ẓāhir) and and

meaning).” 20

belly (Bāṭin). Each harf

Or in other instances such as:

has a border(hadd) and

“If I had wished, I could

each border has a lookout

have

point (muttala).” 18

camels with commentary

loaded

seventy

There are other traditionsofProphet that

on the Fātiha of the

alludes to the point that each verses of Qurʿān

Book….For the one who

has bāṭin and ẓāhir andeach letter of it has

understands the Qurʿān,

ta’wīl that only God and those firmly

thereby whole bodies of

grounded in knowledge know. The Qurʿān

knowledge

itself says “But no one knows its interpretation

explained.” 21

are

(Ta’wīl) except Allah and those firmly

Companions of Muhammad have also alluded

grounded in knowledge” (3:7).

to

“According to a saying of the Prophet, “no

ʿAbdAllāh ibn al-ʿAbbās(born c. 619—died

verse of the Qurʾān has been revealed which

687/688),as one of the early Qurʿān scholars

has not an external aspect and an inner aspect.

while interpreting the chapter victory (al-

Every letter has its definite sense (ḥadd) and

Fath)moving beyond the outer meaning of the

every definition implies a place of ascent

verses concludes that this chapter alludes to the

(maṭlaʿ).” 19

death of Muhammad.

18


20

Bihār al-Anwār, 1404 H, pp. 284, vol.2

Burckhardt, 2008

21

Bihār al-Anwār, pp. 89, Vol 93

19


inner

interpretation

of

the

Qurʿān.



Likewise the followers (Tābi‘ūn), have used

within the Muslim community and the Qurānīc

ta’wīl not only in ambiguous verses but also to

context.

the other ones, that had been revealed in within

After the followers(Tābi‘ūn), ta’wīl spread

a

more in the first half of the 2nd Islamic century.

clear

occasions

or

circumstances

of

revelation (Asbāb al-nuzūl). There exist many

The

examples of this kind that are attributed to

philosophical and theological heritage among

Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī al-Bāqir (676-733 AD)

the Muslims made them to have deeper

and Ja`far ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (702–765)

contemplations upon their own Scripture.

both descendant of Ali. Al-Ṣādiqfor instance,

Muslims considered ta’wīlof the Qurʿān as a

characterizes the letters of Qurʿān as follows:

way to encounter the new cultural era. Tustari

The Book of God has four

(d. 283/89)in the third Islamic century wrote a

things: the clear expression

short commentary on Qurʿān that was totally

(ibāra),

allusion

an esoteric(bāṭini)interpretation.He mentioned

(ishāra), subtleties (latā’if)

that the Qurʿān"contained several levels of

and realities (haqā’iq). The

meaning", which included the outer or zahir

clear expression is for the

and the inner or batin” 23, a century later Abu

common

people

'Abdarrahmān as-Sulamī (937-1021) wrote his

(‘awāmm), the allusion is

Haqa'iq at-tafsir in which according to as-

for the elite (khawāṣ), the

Sulamī made two essential points:

subtleties

the

are

for

translation

“First,he

the

spreading

explicitlystates

friends (awlīyā’), and the

that

realities

categoriesof contentin his

are

for

prophets (anbīyā’).

the

he

and

combinedtwo

work: ayāt, glosses or

22

Thus, the language of al-Ṣādiq imprint the

interpretivecommentson

early stages of “īrfānī interpretation” from

Qur'anic

22

Sands, 2006, p. 12


23

Glasse, 2008, p. 393

phrases,and

Greek


aqwāl,

Sufi


sayingson

seized red sulfur, whohave

topics promptedby a key

dived into its depths and

term drawn from such

taken

phrases.” 24

shining pearlsand green

out

red

rubies,

A good deal of attention toward inner

chrysolite,

interpretation of Qurʿān, in fifth Islamic

roamed its shores and

century appeared in the works of Abu Hāmid

gathered

Muhammad al-Ghazālī (1058-1111), Ahmad

and fresh blooming aloes

Sam’ānī (d.1140) and Abu al-Qāsim al-

wood, who have clung to

Qushayrī (d. 1074). Ghazalī in his book,

its islandsand found an

“Jawāhir al-Qurʿān” makes it clear that dealing

abundance in their animals

merely with the outward of the Qurʿān is like

of the greatest antidote

staying in the shore of the sea and closing the

andpungent musk? 25

who

have

grayambergris

It was in this period that concept of mutual love

eye to its inner wonders: Haven’t you heard that the

between man and God was more than before

Qurʿān is an ocean from

expressed. These authors some time were

which theknowledge of all

calling their readers as Chevalier (Persian:

ages branches out just as

Jawanmard) as Chittick puts, “indicating not

rivers and streams branch

who the readers are, but what they should be

outfrom the shores of the

striving to become, namely, people of perfect

ocean? Don’t you envy the

virtue, wisdom, generosity, kindness, and

happiness of peoplewho

compassion.” 26

have

its

Rashid al-Din Meybudīin his Kashf al-Asrār

and

made another Sufi commentary to Qurʿān. He

plunged

into

overflowing waves

24

Böwering, 1996

25

Al-Ghazali, 1983


26

Chittick, Divine Love, 2013, p. xxii



gives three levels of interpretation to each

guards the hearts in His

verse that he interprets. In the first level he

grasp. He is the All-

gives a Persian translation of the Arabic verse

Merciful who makes subtle

with some grammatical explanation, in the

lights appear in your face,

second level he deals with the history of the

and

Qurʿānic commentary and explains how prior

merciful who places secret

commentators dealt with the verse. His third

deposits in your heart. 27

He

is

the

Ever-

an

With emergence of Ibn ‘Arabī (1165-1240) the

It is in the

language of mystical interpretation shifted

third level that he applies is a perfect use of

toward a more complex terminology. He

Sufi language. Below is an example of his third

established a new style of mystical writing that

level commentary to “the compassionate, the

after him was called the school of Ibn ‘Arabī.

merciful”:

Almost all of his writings have dealt with

level

of

interpretation

esotericinterpretation of the verse.

is

He is the All- Merciful who

Qurʿānic verses, and he has suggested his

accepts

commentaries

the

obedience,

servants’

even

if

it

on

an

esoteric

understanding. Sayyed Bahāʾ-al-Dīn Ḥaydar Āmolī(1320-

islittle, and He is the Everforgives

1385),a profound scholar of eighth Islamic

their disobedient acts even

century, after Ibn ‘Arabi, completed his seven

if they are great. He is the

volume exegesis of the Qurʿān, al-Moḥīṭ al-

All- Merciful who adorns

aʿẓam, in 1375-76. He tried to join the Shi’a

outwardness and sculpts

mystical understanding of the Qurʿān with the

the form, and He is the

Sufi approach. Āmolī’s commentary is one of

Ever- Merciful who makes

the

inwardness flourish and

Sufi/Shi’a approach toward understanding

Merciful

27

based

who

Meybudi, Rashid al-Din, William Chittick, 2014


very

important

contributions

of



the Qurʿān. Kohlberg emphasizes that the

God, join his blessing, annihilating in Him,

significance of āmolī, remains in two point,

characterizing one with God’s Character traits.

“First, he was an early proponent of the thesis

On the otherhandQurʿān, as a word of God for

that Imamite Shiʿism, which combines the

Sufis is a mirror by looking in which everyone

šarīʿa, ṭarīqa, and ḥaqīqa, is identical with

finds a description of him/herself.

Sufism… Second, Āmolī was an early example

In their commentaries, Sufi’s more or less use

of a long line of Imamite thinkers (stretching to

same terminology. Among them one can allude

our own day) who incorporated the thought of

to the followings: Love (Hub), Poverty (Faqr),

Ebn al-ʿArabī and his followers into their

Fana, Baqa, Kashf, intimacy with God,

writings.” 28

(uns)Unveiling (kashf), Taste (dhuq), Trust

The mystical approach to understand

(Amanat).

Qurʿān, has continued to our present day.

The story of love begins with creation, God

Nevertheless one cannot ignore the effect of

according to Sufi tradition created the man out

Ibn ‘Arabi’s

of Love. God knows himself and loves himself,

school of

to the later

generations.

then he creates man to love him. Upon creation, God talks to (primordial) man: Am I not your

Sufi Terminology

Lord? Man answers: Yes. Then a covenant follows. The Qurʿān puts the story as below:

Sufi language and its interpretation of the

And (remember) when thy

Qurʿān is rather a universal language. Every

Lord brought forth from

one with a sense of spiritual understanding,

the Children of Adam,

whether a Muslim or not,can grasp the state of

from their reins, their seed,

the author. This is exactly for the point that the

and made them testify of

main issue of Sufis in their works is a mutual

themselves, (saying): Am I

love between man and God. Seeking to find

not your Lord? They said:

28

Kohlberg, 2011



Yea, verily. We testify.

do? Sufis allude to the verse wherein God ask

(That was) lest ye should

man to:

say

Man,


of

Say, (O Muhammad, to

Resurrection: Lo! of this

mankind): If ye love Allah,

we were unaware. (7:172)

follow me; Allah will love

for

at

what

the

Day

Qurʿān

describes

as

you and forgive you your

forgetfulness of God, forgets his covenant and

sins. Allah is Forgiving,

God sends him prophets and books to remind

Merciful. (3:31)

him of that love and the fact that he/she must

Meibodi in his mystical interpretation of the

return to his/her everlasting abode. It is

above verse, stresses upon the necessity of

noteworthy that according to Sufi tradition,

following and learning from the example to

creation has two arcs.One is the arc of descent

Muhammad:

and the other one is the arc of ascent. Now, in the position that man has, he must

The call came from the Real:

“Whatever

drink

start his arc of ascent after being in descent. His

comes to you from the

forgetfulness makes him to be far from his

auspicious

Lord, whereas “Love aims to bridge the gap

Muhammad the Arab, the

between man and God” 29. Sufi commentaries

Hashimite prophet, take,

on the Qurʿān, use the language of love to

for your life lies in that.

remind man of his primordial love. This is also

Read the tablet that he

for the fact that God’s love for man take

writes, learn servanthood

precedence over man’s love for God. As

from his character traits,

theQurʿān puts: “whom He loveth and who

take

love Him” (5:54) God’s love is prior to man’s

aspiration, put his Sunnah

love. Butanyway, if you love God, then what to

to work, walk behind him

29

Chittick, Divine Love, 2013


hand

of

seeking from his



in all states. The final goal

about whether there should be a mystical

of the traveling of the

interpretation to Qurʿān, but followers of this

servantsand the perfection

path have made it clear in their works that what

of their states is My love,

they are doing is nothing but discovering the

and

in

Divine secrets through their contemplation,

following the Sunnah and

intuitions and mystical experiences. Their main

conduct of your prophet.

idea is that the Qurʿān is word of God and it

Whoever walks straight in

contains not only Zawāhir, but only Bawātin.

his tracks is in reality My

One can gain the secrets of the Book through

friend. Say: ‘If you love

purification of his soul and, following the

God, follow me, and God

Muhammad’s example and ascending the

will love you’[3:31].” 30

ladder of spiritual perfection. According to this

My

love

lies

According to Sufi tradition, Muhammad is

tradition, remaining in the Zawāhir of Qurʿān,

symbol of Love, good character traits, the

is like stopping by the shore of the ocean. If one

symbol of perfect man, and finally the best

intends the meet with the absolute Real, he/she

example than man should follow him.

needs to theoretically and practically realize

Muhammad, as Sufis described him is a sure

and actualize his/her innate spiritual faculties.

path to salvation. He again while commenting

Therefore mystical interpretation of the Qurʿān,

the verse “Be you lordly ones!” (3:79), stresses

not only is not a “vague speculation”, or “the

that the following of Muhammad will results in

reading of one’s own ideas into a text”;rather it

the gaining of divine character traits.

is discovering the different levels of existence and a path realizing the self. Sufi interpretation,

Conclusion:

takes for granted that the levels of the Qurʿān

Sufi commentary has emerged from the early

identifies with the levels of existence and

Islam. There are however, some disagreements

man’s argent need is requiring self-knowledge

30

Meybudi, Rashid al-Din, William Chittick, 2014




and self-purification rather than making

included in the objectives

him/herself busy with discursive discussion or

of the Qur'an, and they are,

polemic dialogues. Khomeini puts this as

in fact, far away from the

follow:

main objective of this By

learning,

teaching,

divine Book. 31

being

Sufism and its methodology and approach to

benefited we do not mean

Qurʿān, is one of the Islam’s most valuable

its

literary,

heritage. The mystical aspects of Qurʿān not

and

only is exhibited in the Qurʿāniccommentaries,

morphological aspects, nor

but also a wide range of poetry and literature in

its eloquence and rhetoric

the Muslim societies devoted to discuss this

and other stylistic points,

aspect of Qurʿān. It is an important endeavor to

nor being interested in its

analyze the extent and effects of mystical

stories, tales and episodes

literature in Islamic heritage in comparison

from the historical point of

with the other disciplines and it’s role in

view in

making a dialogue among Muslims and the

benefiting

and

different

syntactical

order to

get

information about the past

followers of the other religions.

nations. None of these is

Bibliography 1. Al-Ghazali. (1983). Jawa1ir al-Qur'an wa duraruh. Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadida. 2. Ali. (1998). Peak of Eloquence.

31





3. Al-Tabari. (1954-7). Jami' al-bayan 'an ta`wil ay al-Qur`an. Egypt : Mustafa al-Babi alHalabi. 4. Böwering, G. (1996). The Major Sources of Sulamī's Minor Qurʾān Commentary. Oriens, Vol. 35, (1996), pp., 35, 35-56. doi:10.2307/1580542 5. Burckhardt, T. (2008). Introduction to Sufi Doctrine. World Wisdom. 6. Chittick, W. (2003, 10 2). Mysticism in Islam. Retrieved 10 5, 2014, from Ibn Arabi Society: http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/courses/2012/chittick-mysticism-in-islam.pdf 7. Chittick, W. (2004). Me and Rumi. Fons Vitae. 8. Chittick, W. (2012). In Search of the Lost Heart: Explorations in Islamic Thought. New York: SUNNY Press. 9. Chittick, W. (2013). Divine Love. New heaven: Yale. 10. Gellman, Jerome, Edward N. Zalta. (2014, March 7). "Mysticism". Retrieved from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/mysticism 11. Glasse, C. (2008). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 12. khomeini, R. (1996). Adab as-Salat The Disiplines of the Prayer . Tehran: International Affairs Department and Ansariyan Publications .




13. Kohlberg, E. (2011, August 3). Encyclopædia Iranica . Retrieved 11 09, 2014, from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/amoli-sayyed-baha-al-din-haydar-b 14. Meibudi, R. a.-D. (n.d.). Kashf al-asrar wa uddat al-Abrar. 15. Meybudi, Rashid al-Din, William Chittick. (2014). Kashf al-Asrar wa Uddat al-Abrar. Fons Vitae. 16. Radtke, B. (1988, December 15). Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baten-inner-hidden-the-opposite-of-zaherouter-visible 17. Sands, K. Z. (2006). SUFI COMMENTARIES ON THE QUR'AN IN CLASSICAL ISLAM. London: Routledge . 18. Schimmel, w. C. (2004). Me and Rumi. Fons Vitae. 19. Tabataba'i, S. M. (1987). Qur'an in Islam. Krachi: Zahra Publications. 20. Webster. (2014, November 8). "Mysticism." Merriam-Webster,. Retrieved from ." Merriam-Webster.com.: .
