The author of many independent treatises on metaphysics and...

The author of many independent treatises on metaphysics and the traditional sciences, he also wrote a commentary upon the Fusūs which became popular.40 But the work that made him one of the pillars of the School of theoretical gnosis in Persia during later centuries is his Tamhīd al-qawā‘id.41 This masterly treatment of the cycle of gnosis became a popular textbook for the teaching of the subject in Persia especially during the Qajar period and has remained so to this day as one sees in the extensive recension of it by the contemporary Persian philosopher and gnostic, ‘Abd Allāh Jawādī Āmulī.42 The figure, who was given the title of the “Seal of Persian Poets”, that is, ‘Abd al-Rahmān Jāmī from Herat, was also in a sense the seal of this period in the history of theoretical gnosis in Persia.

One of the greatest poets of the Persian language, he was also a master of Ibn ‘Arabian gnosis and in a sense synthesized within his works the two distinct currents of Islamic spirituality that flowed from Ibn ‘Arabī and Rūmī.

Jāmī is the author of a number of commentaries upon the works of Ibn ‘Arabī such as the famous Naqd al-nusūs fī sharh naqsh al-fusūs.43 He also authored summaries of the teachings of this School in works already mentioned such as the Lawā’ih and Ashi‘‘at al-lama‘āt, both literary masterpieces which are used as texts for the teaching of ‘irfān to this day.44 The spread of Twelve-Imam Shi‘ism in Persia during the Safavid period transformed the scene as far as the study and teaching of ‘irfān was concerned.

During the earlier part of Safavid rule, many Sufi orders flourished in Persia whereas from the 11th/17th century onward opposition grew against Sufism especially among the class of Shi‘ite scholars who henceforth chose to speak of ‘irfān rather than tasawwuf.45 Although other types of Sufi and gnostic writings appeared during this period by members of various Sufi orders such as the Dhahabīs and ‘irfān-i shī‘ī also flourished in certain circles, few new works on the subject of theoretical gnosis appeared during this period in comparison to the previous era.

The main influence of the School of Ibn ‘Arabī came to be felt through the writings of Mullā Sadrā (d.