Mystical Contraction and Expansion in Educational Texts of Sufis till 8th A.H. Century: A Comparative Study
Subject Areas : Mytho
عبدالعلی اویسی
1
,
عبدالله واثق عباسی
2
,
اسماعیل علی پور
3
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1 -
2 -
3 -
Keywords:
Abstract :
Mystical contraction and expansion has a Quranic origin and it has been discussed in educational texts of Sufis till 8th A.H. Most authors of these texts believe that mystical contraction and expansion is one of the sālek's (the holy traveler) mystical states and comes to his/her heart from God. Based on comparative mysticism, in the present article, attempts are made to show the historical development of contraction and expansion in educational texts of Sufis and to examine their similarity, difference and their impact on each other, and to introduce prominent views. The main question of the research is that, in its historical development in educational texts, how far do the concept of mystical contraction and expansion go from its lexical meanings, and how are semantic contexts and conceptual implications of it developed and modified? Given the high frequency of the use of the concept in Persian mystical texts, the present research will lead to correct interpretations and analysis of views during reading texts.