Ostad Elahi, the Ahl-e Haqq, & Islam: A Study on Sayr-e Takāmol

Date

2015-10-12

Authors

Asheghali, Golnesa

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Abstract

This thesis explores the impact of certain terms, categories and approaches, such as orthodox, heterodox, ghulāt (Shi’i extremists), and syncretism, on the field of Islamic Studies and maintains that these classifications result in normative and exclusive understandings of Islam that greatly limit the scope of academic inquiry. Specifically, this study examines the work of the Kurdish mystic and philosopher, Nūr ‘Alī Elahī (Ostad Elahi) and aims to demonstrate that Ostad Elahi’s text Ma’refat ol-Ruh (Knowing the Spirit), an elucidation of the Ahl-e Haqq belief in sayr-e takāmol, has been largely ignored in the field of Islamic Studies as a result of the existing parameters. The study makes the case that Ma’refat ol-Ruh is a text that is simultaneously Muslim and Ahl-e Haqq and should be examined by scholars of Islamic Studies as a work on Islamic eschatology.

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Keywords

Ostad Elahi, Ahl-e Haqq, Islam, Shiism, Sufism

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