Examining the Characteristics of “Sufi-Deconstructed Text" Corresponding to Abdul Jabbar Niffari’s Al-Mawaqif and Al-Mukhatabaat

Abstract

Abdul Jabbar Niffari is one of the unknown mystics of the fourth century (AH). One reason for his anonymity is his complicated mystical prose. His most important works are Al-Mawaqif and Al-Mukhatabat, which contain direct reports of his mystical experiences. The explanations in these two books are chiefly devoid of conventional scientific terminologies of that era. In fact, these reports are based on direct quotations from God. The purpose of this study is to examine the content of these two books via an analytical-descriptive research method to see which characteristics of “Sufi-deconstructed texts" correspond to Niffari’s two books. Subscribing to the famous classification of mystical texts into two categories of "deconstructed" and "constructed", the main question of the research is whether the books of Al-Mawaqif and Al-Mukhatabat can be considered "deconstructed prose". By examining the main features of the deconstructed texts and presenting evidence from these two books, it was concluded that they should be categorized as deconstructed texts.

Keywords

• abdul jabbar niffari
• al-mawaqif and al-mukhatabat
• deconstructed text
• mystical prose