Theoretical Gnosis and Doctrinal Sufism and Their Significance Today

Persia

Persia was destined to become one of the main centers, if not the central arena, for the later development of theoretical gnosis. The circle of Qūnawī was already closely connected to the Persian cultural world and many of its members, including Qūnawī himself, wrote in Persian. Qūnawī’s student, Fakhr al-Dīn ‘Irāqī is considered one of the greatest poets of the Persian language. Among other early members of the School one can mention Sa‘d al-Dīn Hamūyah, his disciple ‘Azīz al-Dīn Nasafī, who wrote on gnosis in readily accessible Persian, Awhad al-Dīn Balyānī (d. 686/1288) from Shiraz, whose famous Risālat al-ahadiyyah was for a long time attributed to Ibn ‘Arabī,36 and ‘Abd al-Razzāq Kāshānī who, as already mentioned, is a major figure of the School of theoretical gnosis and a prominent commentator upon the Fusūs. From the 8th/14th century onward in Persia we see on the one hand the continuation of the School of theoretical gnosis through the appearance of prose works in both Arabic and Persian either in the form of commentary upon the Fusūs and other seminal texts of this School or as independent treatises. On the other hand we observe the deep influence of this School in Sufi literature, especially poetry. A supreme example is the Gulshan-i rāz of Mahmūd Shabistarī, one of the greatest masterpieces of Persian Sufi poetry which summarizes the principles of Ibn ‘Arabian gnosis in verses of celestial beauty. That is why its commentary by Muhammad Lāhījī in the 9th/15th century is such a major text of theoretical gnosis. Here, however, we are only concerned with the prose and systematic works of theoretical gnosis and not the poetical tradition but the nexus between the two should not be forgotten as we see in the works of ‘Irāqī, Shāh Ni‘mat Allāh Walī, Jāmī and many others.

Another important event that took place in the 8th/14th century and left its deep influence upon the history of the School during the Safavid, Qajar and Pahlavi periods was the integration of Ibn ‘Arabian gnosis into Shi‘ism which possesses its own gnostic teachings to which scholars refer as ‘irfān-i shī‘ī. These two outwardly distinct schools are inwardly connected and go back to the original esoteric and gnostic dimension of the Islamic revelation. It was most of all Sayyid Haydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385) who brought about a synthesis of these two branches of the tree of gnosis, although he also did make certain criticisms of Ibn ‘Arabī, especially concerning the question of walāyah/wilāyah. Many others walked later in his footsteps. Āmulī was at once a major Twelve-Imam Shi‘ite theologian and a Sufi devoted to the School of Ibn ‘Arabī. His Jāmi‘ al-asrār is a pivotal text for the gnosis of Ibn ‘Arabī in a Shi‘ite context.37 He was also the author of a major commentary upon the Fusūs as well as independent metaphysical treatises. The later development of theoretical gnosis in Persia, as well as the School of Transcendent Theosophy of Mullā Sadrā cannot be fully understood without consideration of Āmulī’s works.

The 8th/14th to the 10th/15th century marks a period of intense activity in the field of theoretical gnosis and the School of Ibn ‘Arabī in Persia. Commentaries upon the Fusūs continued to appear. The first in Persian was most likely that of Rukn al-Dīn Mas‘ūd Shīrāzī, known as Bāhā Ruknā (d. 769/1367).38 But there were many others by such figures as Tāj al-Dīn

Khwārazmī (d. circa 838/1435),39 Shāh Ni‘mat Allāh Walī, Ibn Turkah (d. 830/1437) and Jāmī, who in a sense brings this period to an end. This extensive activity in the domain of gnosis associated specifically with the School of Ibn ‘Arabī was in addition to the flowering of the Sufism of the School of Khurasan and Central Asia and profound gnostic teachings, mostly in poetic form, of figures such as ‘Attār and Rūmī on the one hand and the Kubrawiyyah School founded by Najm al-Dīn Kubrā on the other.

We can hardly overemphasize the importance of the Khurasānī and Central Asian Schools and their profound metaphysical teachings, but in this essay we shall not deal with them, being only concerned with ‘irfān-i nazarī in its association with the School of Ibn ‘Arabī.

Among the gnostic figures of this period, Sā’in al-Dīn ibn Turkah Isfahānī stands out as far as his later influence is concerned.

The author of many independent treatises on metaphysics and the traditional sciences, he also wrote a commentary upon the Fusūs

which became popular.40 But the work that made him one of the pillars of the School of theoretical gnosis in Persia during later centuries is his Tamhīd al-qawā‘id.41 This masterly treatment of the cycle of gnosis became a popular textbook for the teaching of the subject in Persia especially during the Qajar period and has remained so to this day as one sees in the extensive recension of it by the contemporary Persian philosopher and gnostic, ‘Abd Allāh Jawādī Āmulī.42

The figure, who was given the title of the “Seal of Persian Poets”, that is, ‘Abd al-Rahmān Jāmī from Herat, was also in a sense the seal of this period in the history of theoretical gnosis in Persia.

One of the greatest poets of the Persian language, he was also a master of Ibn ‘Arabian gnosis and in a sense synthesized within his works the two distinct currents of Islamic spirituality that flowed from Ibn ‘Arabī and Rūmī. Jāmī is the author of a number of commentaries upon the works of Ibn ‘Arabī such as the famous Naqd al-nusūs fī sharh naqsh al-fusūs.43 He also authored summaries of the teachings of this School in works already mentioned such as the Lawā’ih and Ashi‘‘at al-lama‘āt, both literary masterpieces which are used as texts for the teaching of ‘irfān to this day.44

The spread of Twelve-Imam Shi‘ism in Persia during the Safavid period transformed the scene as far as the study and teaching of ‘irfān was concerned. During the earlier part of Safavid rule, many Sufi orders flourished in Persia whereas from the 11th/17th century onward opposition grew against Sufism especially among the class of Shi‘ite scholars who henceforth chose to speak of ‘irfān rather than tasawwuf.45 Although other types of Sufi and gnostic writings appeared during this period by members of various Sufi orders such as the Dhahabīs and ‘irfān-i shī‘ī also flourished in certain circles, few new works on the subject of theoretical gnosis appeared during this period in comparison to the previous era. The main influence of the School of Ibn ‘Arabī came to be felt through the writings of Mullā Sadrā (d. 1050/1640/41), who was deeply influenced by Shaykh al-Akbar and quoted from him extensively in his Asfār and elsewhere.46

But technically speaking the School of Mullā Sadrā is associated with hikmat and not ‘irfān, although Mullā Sadrā was also a gnostic and deeply

versed in Ibn ‘Arabian teachings. But he integrated elements of this teaching into his al-hikmat al-muta‘āliyah (Transcendent Theosophy or Philosophy) and did not write separate treatises on pure gnosis in the manner of an Ibn ‘Arabī or Qūnawī. It is highly significant that Mullā Sadrā did not leave behind a commentary on the Fusūs like that of Kāshānī or Qaysarī nor write a treatise like Tamhīd al-qawā‘id although he was well acquainted with Ibn Turkah.

Nor do we find major works devoted purely to theoretical gnosis or ‘irfān-i nazarī by his students such as Fayd Kāshānī, who was also a gnostic, or Lāhījī. The School of ‘irfān-i nazarī certainly continued during the Safavid era but the major intellectual thrust of the period was in the creation of the School of Transcendent Theosophy, which had incorporated major theses of ‘irfān such as wahdat al-wujūd into its philosophical system, but which was distinct in the structure of its doctrines, manner of presentation and method of demonstration from ‘irfān. Furthermore, the subject of hikmat is “being conditioned by negation” (wujūd bi-shart-i lā) while the subject of ‘irfān is totally non-conditioned being (wujūd lā bi-shart).

In any case as far as Persia is concerned, one had to wait for the Qajar period to see a major revival of the teaching of ‘irfān-i nazarī and the appearance of important commentaries on classical texts of this tradition. This revival occurred along with the revivification of the teachings of the School of Mullā Sadrā and many masters of this period were both hakīm and ‘ārif, while ‘irfān continued to influence philosophy deeply. The first major figure to mention in the context of the School of ‘irfān during the Qajar period is Sayyid Radī Lārījānī (d. 1270/1853) who was a student of Mullā ‘Alī Nūrī in hikmat but we know less of his lineage in ‘irfān.47 He is said to have possessed exalted spiritual states and was given the title of “Possessor of the States of the Inner (bātin) World” by his contemporaries.48 We know that he taught the Fusūs and Tamhīd alqawā‘id in Isfahan and was considered as a saint as well as master of ‘irfān-i nazarī.

Sayyid Radī’s most important student was Āqā Muhammad Ridā Qumsha’ī (d. 1306/1888-9), whom many Persian experts on ‘irfān consider as a second Ibn ‘Arabī and the most prominent commentator upon gnostic texts such as the Fusūs since the time of Qūnawī. Āqā Muhammad Ridā studied in Isfahan but later migrated to Tehran which became henceforth perhaps the most important for the teaching of ‘irfān-i nazarī for many decades.49 There, he taught and trained numerous important students in both ‘irfān and hikmat.

He also wrote a number of important glosses and commentaries on such works as the Tamhīd al-qawā‘id and Qaysarī’s commentary on the Fusūs as well as some of the works of Mullā Sadrā, in addition to independent treatises. Like so many masters of ‘irfān-i nazarī, Āqā Muhammad Ridā was also a fine poet and composed poetry under the pen-name Sahbā. Unfortunately much of his poetry is lost. It is also of great significance to note that Āqā Muhammad Ridā emphasized the importance of spiritual practice and the need for a spiritual master.50

One of Āqā Muhammad Ridā’s important students was Mīrzā Hāshim Ashkiwarī Rashtī (d. 1332/1914), commentator upon Misbāhal-uns, who

took over the circle of instruction of ‘irfān in Tehran after Āqā Muhammad Ridā. He was in turn teacher of such famous hakīms and ‘ārifs of the past century as Mīrzā Mahdī Āshtiyānī d. 1362/1953), Mīrzā Ahmad Āshtiyānī (d. 1359/1940), Sayyid Muhammad Kāzim ‘Assār (d. 1396/1975) and Muhammad ‘Alī Shāhābādī (d. 1369/1951).51 The latter is particularly important not only for his own writings on gnosis including his Rashahāt al-bihār, but for being the master of Ayatollah Khomeini in ‘irfān-i nazarī, the person with whom the latter studied the Fusūs without the presence of any other student.52 Many of the ideas of Ayatollah Khomeini in his Ta‘līqāt, Sharh du‘ā-i sahar and Misbāh al-hidāyah ila’l-khilāfah wa’l-walāyah/wilāyah reflect the interpretations of Shāhābādī whom he revered highly.

The extensive political fame and influence of Ayatollah Rūh Allāh Khumaynī (Khomeini) (d. 1409/1989) has prevented many people in the West and even within the Islamic world to pay serious attention to his gnostic works,53 and his place in the long history of theoretical gnosis outlined in a summary fashion above. There is no doubt that he was attracted to the study of ‘irfān from an early age and in later years, while he also studied hikmat, not to speak of the transmitted sciences, his great love remained ‘irfān, although he was also a recognized master of the School of Mullā Sadrā.54 In his writings he combined the tradition of ‘irfān-i shī‘ī55 and that of Ibn ‘Arabī. For example his Sharh du‘ā-i sahar belongs to the world of Shi‘ite gnosis; the Ta‘līqāt ‘alā sharh fusūs il-hikam wa misbāh il-uns belong to the tradition of Ibn ‘Arabian gnosis as interpreted over the centuries by Shi‘ite gnostics and with many new insights into the understanding of these classical texts; and Misbāh al-hidāyah ila’lkhilāfah wa’l-walāyah/wilāyah represent a synthesis of the two schools of gnosis. Other mystical works of Ayatollah Khomeini such as Chihil hadīth, Sirr al-salāh, Ādāb al-salāh and Sharh-i hadīth-i junūd-i ‘aql wa jahl are also works of a gnostic and esoteric quality reminiscent of a Fayd Kāshānī or Qādī Sa‘īd Qummī and going back even earlier, classical Sufi works on such subjects, but they do not fall fully under the category of ‘irfān-i nazarī as we have defined it in this essay.56 Ayatollah Khomeini also composed poems of a mystical and gnostic nature.

For many it is interesting to note and might even appear as perplexing that although later in life he entered fully into the arena of politics, earlier in his life Ayatollah Khomeini was very much interested not only in theoretical gnosis but also in operative Sufism with its ascetic dimension and emphasis on detachment from the world. The key to this riddle should perhaps be sought first of all in the stages of man’s journeys (asfār) to God mentioned by Mullā Sadrā at the beginning of the Asfār, stages which include both the journey from creation (al-khalq) to God (al-Haqq) and return to creation with God and secondly in Ayatollah Khomeini’s understanding of the stages of this journey as they applied to him and to what he considered to be his mission in life. In any case although the later part of his life differed greatly outwardly from that of Āqā Muhammad Ridā, his early life was much like that of the figure whom he called “the master of our masters”. Also like Āqā

Muhammad Ridā, Ayatollah Khomeini was poetically gifted and deeply immersed in the tradition of Persian Sufi poetry.

There is need in the future to study more closely the relation between the contemplative and active dimensions of life in the case of Ayatollah Khomeini in relation to the teachings of ‘irfān, and more generally in the lives of several other major Muslim political figures of the 14th/20th century such as Hasan al-Bannā’, the founder of the Ikhwān al-muslimīn, and Mawlānā Mawdūdī, the founder of Jamā‘ati islāmī of Pakistan, both of whom were deeply immersed in politics while being earlier in life devoted in one way or another to Sufism. In the case of none of the major Muslim political figures of the 14th/20th century, however, is there such a close relationship with Sufism and ‘irfān as one finds in the case of Ayatollah Khomeini. Such matters raise issues of central concern for the understanding of the relation between Sufism and ‘irfān on the one hand and external political action on the other. These issues are not, however, our concern here.

What is important to note is that irrespective of his political views and actions, and his particular interpretation of walāyah/wilāyah, Ayatollah Khomeini remains an important figure in the long history of theoretical gnosis in the Islamic world.

The tradition of ‘irfān-i nazarī continues to this day in Persia.57 After the generation of such figures as Ayatollah Khomeini, ‘Allāmah Tabātabā’ī (d. 1404/1983), who was a major gnostic without writing any commentaries on Ibn ‘Arabī, and also one of the important masters of ‘irfān, Sayyid Muhammad Kāzim ‘Assār, notable figures have appeared upon the scene such as Sayyid Jalāl al-Dīn Āshtiyanī, Hasan-zādah Āmulī, and Jawād Āmulī, of whom the latter two still teach at Qom. Āshtiyanī’s commentary upon the introduction of Qaysarī to the Fusūs mentioned above, as well as a number of his other commentaries such as those on Tamhīd alqawā‘id and Naqd al-nusūs, are major contemporary texts of theoretical gnosis, while the recent commentary by Hasan-zādah Āmulī on the Fusūs entitled Mumidd al-himam dar sharh-i fusūs alhikam58 reveals the living nature of this School in Persia as does Jawād Āmulī’s recension of Tamhīd al-qawā‘id.