Mystical Themes in the Divan-e Asrar of Mulla Hadi Sabzevari: A Three-Axis Reading Based on Reflection, Analysis, and Critique

Abstract

The Divan-e Asrar of Mulla Hadi Sabzevari is among those works in which the convergence of mystical experience and philosophical thought has assumed an integrated form through poetic expression. This study aims to examine and analyze the mystical themes of this divan and to explain their relationship with the foundations of theoretical mysticism and Islamic philosophy. The research method is descriptive-analytical and is based on the textual analysis of selected verses from the divan. The findings indicate that Sabzevari, in his poetry, represents fundamental mystical concepts such as divine love, the unity of being, manifestation, the heart, and the Perfect Human within a network of symbolic images and poetic allusions. In this regard, love, as an existential and all-encompassing force, constitutes the central axis for explaining the movement of the cosmos and the connection of beings with Absolute Reality, while the concepts of annihilation and subsistence are also understood in light of the human wayfarer’s spiritual experience. Moreover, the concept of the heart is presented as the center of intuitive perception and the locus of the manifestation of truth within human existence, thereby explaining the path of perfection and attainment of the station of the Perfect Human. The analysis of the poems demonstrates that Sabzevari, through the use of metaphorical and symbolic language, transfers the complex concepts of theoretical mysticism from the level of abstract propositions into the realm of poetic experience. Accordingly, the Divan-e Asrar is an outstanding example of the interaction between mystical poetry and philosophical thought in the Islamic tradition, in which philosophical and wisdom-based concepts are recreated within a literary and interpretive form.