The Persian Sufi Tradition and Shams al-Dīn Lāhījī - Sufi Metamorphosis

The Persian Sufi Tradition and Shams al-D¿n L¿h¿j¿: 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 Maf¿t¿¿ al-i¿j¿z f¿ Shar¿ Gulshan-i R¿z, the masterful Sufi commentary by Shams al-D¿n Müammad L¿h¿j¿. Through detailed textual and historical study, the work uncovers overlooked patterns of Sufi thought, revealing how L¿h¿j¿'s synthesis of Ibn al-¿Arab¿'s metaphysics within Persian literary traditions marked a significant metamorphosis in the development of theoretical Sufism. The book also situates L¿h¿j¿'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.

List of contents

Contents
Notes on Transliterations and Pronunciations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Subject Matter
Shams al-D¿n L¿h¿j¿ 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
Chapter 2. Ibn al-¿Arab¿ and the Persian Sufis of Ir¿n-shahr
Introduction
Historical Developments of the Akbar¿ Tradition Before the Timurid Period (Late Sixth/Thirteenth to Early Ninth/Fifteenth Centuries)
Transmission of the Akbar¿ Tradition Towards Ir¿n-shahr During the Timurid/Aq Qoyunlu Period
Conclusion: Evaluating the Impact of Ibn al-¿Arab¿'s Teachings and His Early Followers Upon the Sufis of Ir¿n-shahr During the Turco-Mongol Period
Chapter 3. The Sam¿¿ of Mäm¿d Shabistar¿ and Shams al-D¿n L¿h¿j¿
Introduction
¿md Shabistar¿ and the Gulshan-i R¿z
A Biographical Sketch of ¿ammad ¿Ibn Ya¿y¿ L¿h¿j¿
The Question of Confessional Ambiguity in Relation to L¿h¿j¿
Introduction to L¿h¿j¿'s Commentary and the Different Sources of Influence upon the Maf¿t¿¿ al-i¿j¿z
¿Al¿d-loyalism and Sh¿¿¿ Millennialism in L¿h¿j¿'s Commentary
Other Works from the Genre of Persian Sufi Literature that Influenced L¿h¿j¿'s Commentary
in Connection to the Akbar¿ School of Thought
L¿h¿j¿'s Commentary in Relation to the Religion of Love
Chapter 4. Wa¿dat al-Wuj¿d in L¿h¿j¿'s commentary on the Gulshan-i R¿z
Introduction
The Self-Emanation of the One Absolute Wuj¿d of God and the Creation of the Cosmos
The Role of the Divine Names and Attributes in L¿h¿j¿'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 Wuj¿d from the Real
The Cosmos: a Passing Dream and Illusion for those Humans still Asleep
Conclusion: L¿h¿j¿'s Commentary as an Influential and Comprehensive Akbar¿ text in Persian During the Timurid Period
Chapter 5. The Perfect Man and L¿h¿j¿'s Sufi Anthropology
Introduction
The Relationship between the Mu¿ammadan Reality and the Perfect Man within L¿h¿j¿ Sufi Cosmology
The Purpose for the Creation of the Perfect Man according to L¿h¿j¿ and His Akbar¿ 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 L¿h¿j¿'s Vision of the Cosmos
Chapter 6. Confessional Ambiguity in L¿h¿j¿'s Sufism
Introduction
L¿h¿j¿'s Explication of Friendship with God and Prophethood
The Identity of the Seal of the Friends in L¿h¿j¿'s Commentary
L¿h¿j¿'s Position on the Issue of Human Free Will and Divine Predestination
L¿h¿j¿'s Refutation of the Mu¿tazilites by Resorting to the Arguments and Teachings of the Ash¿arites
The Historical Problem of L¿h¿j¿'s Confessional Identity in an Era of Confessional Ambiguity
Conclusion: L¿h¿j¿'s Sufism Determined by the Confessional Ambiguity of His Age
Chapter 7. L¿h¿j¿'s Sufi Epistemology
Introduction
The Necessary Qualifications of an Authentic Sufi Master
What the Sufi Path Entails According to L¿h¿j¿
L¿h¿j¿'s Definition of Tafakkur and Ma¿rifat and the Impossibility of Attaining True Knowledge of God according to the Way of the Fal¿sifa and Kal¿m 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: L¿h¿j¿'s Advocacy of the Sufi Way and His Rejection of the Greek Logic of the Avicennian Philosophers and Mutakallim¿n
Chapter 8. L¿h¿j¿ and the Religion of Love
Introduction
Love as a Cosmic Force that Incites Everything into Motion and Being
L¿h¿j¿'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 L¿h¿j¿'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 Akbar¿ Tradition with the Religion of Love in L¿h¿j¿'s System of Sufi Thought
Chapter 9. Conclusion
Index

About the author

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.

Product details

• Authors: Morokoth So
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 15.06.2026
• EAN: 9781032572734
• ISBN: 978-1-032-57273-4
• No. of pages: 226
• Weight: 453 g
• Series: Routledge Sufi Series
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); Iran, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Regional Studies, Philosophy, LITERARY CRITICISM / Middle Eastern, RELIGION / Islam / Sufi, HISTORY / Middle East / Iran, mysticism, History of Religion, Regional Studies, Literature: history & criticism, Middle Eastern history, Regional / International studies, Literature: history and criticism, Sufism & Islamic Mysticism, Islamic groups: Sufis