Description
The Mysticism of Ḥāfiẓ is an English rendition of the Persian book “‘Irfān-e Ḥafiẓ” by the great Muslim thinker and reformer Shahīd Murtaḍā Muṭahharī. “The Mysticism of Ḥāfiẓ” is the theme of a 5-session lecture series given by the martyred thinker in 1971, as a rebuttal to materialists’ opportunistic endeavor to make a materialist, or at least, a skeptic out of Ḥāfiẓ, thereby exploiting his immense popularity to fit into their own secular worldview and ideology. Using his signature style of applying traditional Islamic sources to contemporary questions, the author discusses the concept of ‘irfān-e naẓarī wa ‘amalī (theoretical and practical mysticism) and the principles of mystical worldview – such as the unity of existence and manifestation, permeation of love, the human being prior to the world, and his alienation in the world – by extensively citing poems of Ḥāfiẓ as well as those of at least ten other luminaries in the lofty sky of Islamic mysticism. The present book, just like Muṭahharī’s other works, shows his meticulousness in research, and the subtle mystical nature of the subject matter distinctly expresses the mystical dimension of his personality.
Murtaḍā Muṭahharī was a leading theoretician of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. As an accomplished scholar of Islamic sciences, he played a pivotal role in forming the modern Islamic discourse which served as the foundation of the revolution. With close to ninety works to his credit, he is considered one of the leading thinkers of the global Islamic movement in the twentieth century.
Contents
Dedication
Transliteration Symbols
Translator’s Foreword
About the Author
Preface
Chapter 1 – Ways of Knowing Ḥāfiẓ
Practical Mysticism
Theoretical Mysticism
Was Ḥāfiẓ a Mystic?
Ḥāfiẓ from the Historical Perspective
Ḥāfiẓ as Reflected in His Dīwān
The First Hypothesis about Ḥāfiẓ: He is Just an Artist
The Second Hypothesis: Ḥāfiẓ has Recited His Poems in Different States
Chapter 2 – Ḥāfiẓ a Flower from the Garden of Islamic Teachings
Yazīdism
Muḥyiddīn ‘Arabī the Father of Islamic Mysticism
Mawlawī [Rūmī]
Shaykh Maḥmūd Shabistarī
Maghribī
Hātif Iṣfahānī
Shaykh Bahā’ī
Poems by ‘Allāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī
Ḥāfiẓ a Flower from the Garden of Islamic Teachings
The Reason for the Mystics’ Symbolism
Chapter 3 – Ḥāfiẓ’s Worldview and Ideology According to the Exoteric Meaning of His Poems
Third Hypothesis: Ḥāfiẓ has Composed His Poems during the Different Periods of His Life
Fourth Hypothesis: Ḥāfiẓ’s Poems are Uniform and Their Exoteric Meaning is the Truth
Fifth Hypothesis: Ḥāfiẓ’s Poems are the Same and All are Mystical
Criticism against the Fourth Hypothesis
Ḥāfiẓ’s Worldview According to This Theory
1. Predeterminism
2. Quandary
3. Nihilism
4. Denial of the Resurrection
Ḥāfiẓ’s Ideology According to This Theory
a. Libertarianism
b. Womanizing
c. Begging and Dervish-living
d. Eulogy
Action Items
Chapter 4 – Principles of Mystical Worldview (Part 1)
Principles of Mystical Worldview
The Unity of Existence
The First Interpretation of the ‘Unity of Existence’
The Second Interpretation of the ‘Unity of Existence’
The Third Interpretation of the ‘Unity of Existence’
The Unity of Manifestation
Love and Reason
Permeation of Love
Chapter 5 – Principles of Mystical Worldview (Part 2)
The Best System
The Human Being in Mysticism
The Human Being Prior to the World
The Human Being’s Alienation in the World
Bibliography
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