The Persian Sufi Tradition and Shams al-D¿n L¿h¿j¿

Sufi Metamorphosis
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-57273-4
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 262 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 546 g

Reihe: Routledge Sufi Series

The Persian Sufi Tradition and Shams al-Din Lahiji: Sufi Metamorphosis offers a groundbreaking study of the intellectual and spiritual transformations that reshaped Persian Sufism during the late medieval period in Iran.

Focusing on the pivotal era of the Timurid and Aq Qoyunlu dynasties (1447–1501), this book provides the first comprehensive analysis of Mafatih al-i'jaz fi Sharh Gulshan-i Raz, the masterful Sufi commentary by Shams al-Din Muhammad Lahiji. Through detailed textual and historical study, the work uncovers overlooked patterns of Sufi thought, revealing how Lahiji’s synthesis of Ibn al-'Arabi’s metaphysics within Persian literary traditions marked a significant metamorphosis in the development of theoretical Sufism. The book also situates Lahiji’s life and teachings within their broader cultural and political context, showing how his contribution helped shape the trajectory of Persian Sufi literature and philosophy at a time of profound change.

This volume will appeal to scholars and students of Islamic mysticism, Persian literature, and medieval Islamic intellectual history, as well as readers interested in the evolution of Sufi thought and its philosophical underpinnings.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

So, Mory

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islamische Gruppen: Sufis
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturen sonstiger Sprachräume Literatur des Nahen Ostens & Nordafrikas
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Notes on Transliterations and Pronunciations

Introduction

Subject Matter

Shams al-Din Lahiji in an Age of Transition & the Research Question

The State of the Current Literature, Research Aims, and Situating the Present  Book

Organisation, Methodology & Primary Sources

1. Ibn al-'Arabi and the Persian Sufis of Iran-shahr

Introduction

Historical Developments of the Akbari Tradition Before the Timurid Period (Late  Sixth/Thirteenth to Early Ninth/Fifteenth Centuries)

Transmission of the Akbari Tradition Towards Iran-shahr During the Timurid/Aq Qoyunlu Period

Conclusion: Evaluating the Impact of Ibn al-'Arabi’s Teachings and His Early Followers Upon the Sufis of Iran-shahr During the Turco-Mongol Period

2. The Sama' of Mahmud Shabistari and Shams al-Din Lahiji

Introduction

Mahmud Shabistari and the Gulshan-i Raz

A Biographical Sketch of Shams al-Din Muhammad 'Ibn Yahya Lahiji

The Question of Confessional Ambiguity in Relation to Lahiji

Introduction to Lahiji’s Commentary and the Different Sources of Influence upon the Mafatih al-i'jaz

'Alid-loyalism and Shi'i Millennialism in Lahiji’s Commentary

Other Works from the Genre of Persian Sufi Literature that Influenced Lahiji’s Commentary

Lahiji’s Commentary in Connection to the Akbari School of Thought

Lahiji’s Commentary in Relation to the Religion of Love

3. Wahdat al-Wujud in Lahiji’s commentary on the Gulshan-i Raz

Introduction

The Self-Emanation of the One Absolute Wujud of God and the Creation of the Cosmos

The Role of the Divine Names and Attributes in Lahiji’s Sufi Metaphysics and Their Relationship with the Immutable Entities

The Ambiguous Ontological Status of the Possible Beings in the Manifest Cosmos: Do they Exist or Not?

The Perpetual Renewal of Creation and the Possibility that the Creatures Acquire Wujud from the Real

The Cosmos: a Passing Dream and Illusion for those Humans still Asleep

Conclusion: Lahiji’s Commentary as an Influential and Comprehensive Akbari text in Persian During the Timurid Period

4. The Perfect Man and Lahiji’s Sufi Anthropology

Introduction

The Relationship between the Muhammadan Reality and the Perfect Man within Lahiji Sufi Cosmology

The Purpose for the Creation of the Perfect Man according to Lahiji and His Akbari Predecessors

The Perfect Man as the Spirit of the Cosmos, and the Cosmos as the Corporeal Body of the Perfect Man

The Perfect Man as God’s Vice-Regent and the Subjugation of Every Existent Thing within the Cosmos beneath the Ruling Authority of the Perfect Man

The Perfect Man and Realised Knowledge of God, and the Divine Mystery on Why Mankind is Superior to the Angels

Conclusion: The Perfect Man, the Key to Unlocking Lahiji’s Vision of the Cosmos

5. Confessional Ambiguity in Lahiji’s Sufism

Introduction

Lahiji’s Explication of Friendship with God and Prophethood

The Identity of the Seal of the Friends in Lahiji’s Commentary

Lahiji’s Position on the Issue of Human Free Will and Divine Predestination

Lahiji’s Refutation of the Mu'tazilites by Resorting to the Arguments and Teachings of the Ash'arites

The Historical Problem of Lahiji’s Confessional Identity in an Era of Confessional Ambiguity

Conclusion: Lahiji’s Sufism Determined by the Confessional Ambiguity of His Age

6. Lahiji’s Sufi Epistemology

Introduction

The Necessary Qualifications of an Authentic Sufi Master

What the Sufi Path Entails According to Lahiji

Lahiji’s Definition of Tafakkur and Ma'rifat and the Impossibility of Attaining True Knowledge of God according to the Way of the Falasifa and Kalam scholars

True Knowledge of God (Ma'rifat) is Only Possible by Following the Way of the Sufi Friends

Self-Realisation Leads to Realised Knowledge of the Divine Self

Conclusion: Lahiji’s Advocacy of the Sufi Way and His Rejection of the Greek Logic of the Avicennian Philosophers and Mutakallimun

7. Lahiji and the Religion of Love

Introduction

Love as a Cosmic Force that Incites Everything into Motion and Being

Lahiji’s Exposition on Lover, Beloved and Love in the Framework of His Sufi Teachings

The Human Form as the Ultimate Locus for the Contemplation of Divine Beauty, and Lahiji’s Encouragement of the Sufi Seeker to Contemplate the Divine Beauty through the Face of a Holy Sufi Master

How Love is Born and Nurtured Into a State of Perfection Through the Witnessing of Beauty

The Lover’s Return to the Divine Essence of Love, and the Lover’s Becoming an Inhabitant of the Tavern of Ruins

Conclusion: The Successful Synthesis of the Akbari Tradition with the Religion of Love in Lahiji’s System of Sufi Thought

Conclusion

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Mory So is a sessional academic at Western Sydney University. He currently assists with subjects of study in the History and Islamic Studies majors. His doctorate was conferred in 2022 by Western Sydney University, which focused on the subject matter of the present book proposal. Mory is also proficient in Persian, studying the language for a year in 2017 at the International Centre for Persian Studies at Shiraz University, specialising in the reading and comprehension of classical works of the Sufi genre of Persian literature.