Mystical Experience and its Critique of Pure Reason in the Spiritual Epistemology of Sūhrawardī and Rūmī

This paper aims to introduce and discuss some preliminary aspects of mystical experience by examining the specific methodologies proposed by two celebrated figures of twelfth and thirteenth century Persian SÅ«fÄ«sm, Shihab al-DÄ«n YahyÄ al-SÅ«hrawardÄ« and JalÄl al-DÄ«n RÅ«mÄ«. It will focus on their critical exposition of 'inner' knowledge as opposed to knowledge by pure reason. The learned scholar and philosopher mystic of Persian descent, SÅ«hrawardÄ«, sought to unify scholarly differences and to identify one common trajectory of wisdom from which both the Greek and the Persian were descended. While making a clear break from the Peripatetics and philosophers of reason before him, he expounded upon the importance and primacy of direct mystical experience as the only means through which one may transcend the object/subject divide. Following the short life of SÅ«hrawardÄ«, the great Persian mystic and poet, RÅ«mÄ«, brought with him a continuation of the idea of religious unity and the belief that direct mystical experience takes precedence over and above reasoning alone. His monumental work, the MathnawÄ« represents the culmination of SÅ«fÄ« experience and wisdom and is a landmark work for later SÅ«fÄ«s in its expression of the heights of mystical knowledge. The central focus on unity of being, which comes to its theoretical fulfillment in Ībn ArabÄ«, sits at the heart of the legacy of these two masters. Addressing the dilemmas of the diversity of thought and the ultimate aim of spiritual union and fulfillment of being, it has particular importance for the tradition of Persian SÅ«fÄ«sm. On the subject of knowledge, this paper will discuss two forms of 'knowing' that are peculiar to the phenomenon of religion: 'inner or hidden knowledge' as opposed to 'apparent knowledge.' In the SÅ«fÄ« tradition these two forms of knowledge are referred to, respectively, as 'ilm al-bÄtin and 'ilm al-zÄhir. The term bÄtin, refers to that which is at the base or the inner core or the very heart of things, and zÄhir simply indicates that which is, or appears to be transparent.