Critical analysis or polemical destruction; A discussion about encountering the theoretical aspects of Sufism in the refutations of Sufism during the Safavid period

Abstract

The "Safavid"period is one of the special times in the history of Islam in terms of the conflict between the centers of power over the factor of political-religious legitimacy. In this period, we witness the efforts of the institutions of the Shiite clergy, the Safavid monarchy, and Sufism to establish their legitimacy and marginalize rival currents, with the institution of the monarchy now leaning more towards the clergy. The conflict between the centers of power during this period, particularly with regard to the historical legitimacy of Sufism and the leadership role of the clergy in the newly established Shi'i society and system, had specific dimensions and aspects, and the writing of texts refuting Sufism by the clergy should be examined in light of this historical horizon. The refutations of Sufism have fluctuated between the two poles of criticism and destruction; However, the general atmosphere of these texts is often influenced by the author's logic and polemical expression, and the type of criticism of the theoretical aspects of Sufism in these texts is not exempt from these conditions. In this article, by applying the method of discourse analysis and using the tools of critical stylistics, the relationship between the polemical destruction of theoretical mysticism and the main politico- -religious components of the Safavid period in the seven refutations of Sufism during this period has been investigate. From the perspective of this article, the refutations destroyed theoretical mysticism under the influence of the issue of legitimacy and are not reliable sources for analyzing the relationship between theoretical mysticism and Shiism

Keywords

• sufism
• shiite clergy
• safavid
• legitimacy
• theoretical aspect of sufism
• refutation writing