A Comparative Study of the Concept of “Divine Love” in Attar of Nishapur’s Asrar-Nama and William Blake’s Songs of Innocence
Keywords:
Divine Love, fanā, Self, Annihilation, Comparative Literature, Unity of BeingAbstract
Explaining the mystical structures of divine love and the manner of their convergence across mystical traditions constitutes a fundamental issue in comparative mysticism, because differences in epistemological, ontological, and anthropological foundations have produced diverse interpretations of this concept. The principal problem addressed in this study is the comparative explanation of the mystical structures of divine love and their points of convergence and divergence in Attar of Nishapur’s Asrar-Nama and William Blake’s Songs of Innocence. Accordingly, the present study seeks to answer the following question: On which components are the mystical structures of divine love founded in these two works, and how can their points of convergence and divergence be explained? It appears that divine love in both works is founded upon common mystical components; however, its theoretical foundations and mode of articulation in the thought of Attar and Blake derive from two distinct epistemological systems. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of these structures and to explain their shared and distinctive foundations within the Islamic and Christian mystical traditions. The necessity of the study arises from the scarcity of research examining the mystical structures of divine love through a comparative approach based on epistemological and ontological components. This library-based study employs a descriptive–analytical method and a comparative approach. The findings indicate that, in both systems of thought, divine love functions as the organizing principle of mystical experience and the central axis of the transcendence of human existence. Nevertheless, the foundations through which this concept is explained in the thought of Attar and Blake follow two distinct epistemological frameworks. Overall, the study reveals convergence in the mystical function of divine love, alongside divergence in its theoretical foundations and modes of realization.
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