Principles of Islamic Theoretical Mysticism

Mysticism ('lrfän in Arabic), which etymologically means a kind of knowledge and perception, can be defined technically as a kind of immediate knowledge and understanding beyond the senses or reason which facilitates the process of overcoming the obstacles and lifting the veils of the heart through a kind of spiritual wayfaring or attraction, and in this way the mystic understands the inner truth, the hidden and the true unity that is hidden behind appearances and diversity.

This process follows a spiritual journey and demands the perfection of the soul and is accomplished through self-knowledge and the enlightenment of the interior. Although from a historical point of view what has firstly been called 'Irfan and expressed in terms such as "people of Sufism" can have five meanings, in the present work the theoretical dimension - of the specific meaning: "'Irfän as a set of instructions and teachings" has been mainly considered.

It is known as 'the intellectual legacy of Islamic culture, and under the title -"theoretical mysticism" it has been discussed from different perspectives and explained in prose and verse and in technical terms or symbolic words and concepts. This book is a textbook for Islamic Mysticism at postgraduate level; nevertheless others who are interested in the subject may gain useful information from the book. We hope that this book should form a link showing the way for those who seek advancement.