انوار معرفت

Although Martyr Motahari did not write a specialized and independent book on mysticism, in several of his works he has paid attention to the most fundamental questions about Islamic mysticism and has referred to the most important issues raised in the two main branches of Islamic mysticism (theoretical mysticism and practical mysticism). Using the analytical-documentary method, the present research has investigated Martyr Motahari’s major thoughts in his various writings. He considered authentic Islamic mysticism to be the esoteric and spiritual aspect of the truth of Islam and strongly denied the theory of its import into Islam. He enumerated the most important components of each of the two basic parts of Islamic mysticism, and thus clarified the difference between theoretical mysticism and its rival (philosophy) and the difference between practical mysticism and its counterpart (ethics). Shahid Motahari has also explained the most fundamental issues of theoretical mysticism (unity of existence, mystical monotheism, and the perfect man), and has also examined the most important issues of practical mysticism (the necessity of the mystical wayfaring and the multiple abodes of the spiritual wayfaring and the journey to God) in his works.