The Emergence of anti-Sufism in Twelver Shi'ism: The List of Shi'i Scholars' Refutations of Sufism in the Flyleaf of a Manuscript and Claims about the Attribution of Hadiqat al-Shi'a

Abstract

In this study, the notes written by a Shi'i scholar who is an opponent of Sufism in the flyleaf (wikayya)of the collection numbered 521 in the Majlis-i Shura-yi Islami Library will be edited and the intellectual ground on which these notes are based will be analyzed. The notes in the flyleaf consist of two parts. The first part contains a short excerpt from the treatise Kifayat al-'Aqilin, which we estimate to have been written in the second half of the 11th/17th century, on the list of works written by Shi'i scholars against sufi thought. The second part provides important information about the attribution of Hadiqat al-Shi'a, which is one of the first and most famous Sufi refutations written in the Shi'ite tradition and whose authorship has been the subject of intense debate until today. There is no information in the text about when and by whom the notes in the flyleaf were written. Kifayat al-'Aqilin has not survived and there is no information about it in the sources. However, textual evidence suggests that this work was written by an unknown Shi'i scholar, an opponent of Sufism, towards the end of the 11th/17th century. In the 11th/17th century, Shi'i scholars opposed to Sufism compiled lists of refutations of Sufism in their works to justify the Shi'i scholars' absolute opposition to the idea of Sufism in the historical process. Also included in this list of refutations are texts written by pre-Safavid Shi'i scholars in fields such aqaid, hadith, and biography, which contain only a few sentences that can be associated with Sufis. By means of these lists, it has been tried to prove that the Shi'ite scholars were, without exception, opponents of Sufism in the historical process. It seems that the treatise Kifayat al-'Aqilin was also written for such a purpose. This treatise contains dozens of refutations of Sufism, some of whose fate is unknown to us. The second part of the notes in the flyleaf contains very important information about the Hadiqat al-Shi'a attributed to Muqaddas al-Ardabili (d. 993/1585), a famous Shi'i scholar of the 10th/16th century, whose attribution remains unresolved to this day. The author claims that Muhammad Tahir Qummi (d. 1098/1687) stated in his Tuhfet al-Ahyar that the Hadiqat al-Shi'a belonged to al-Ardebili. He also claimed that in his own time, a person named Ahmad Beg Yuzbashi (11th/17th century) had a copy of Hadiqat al-Shi'a that had been copied during the time of al-Ardebili. In addition, the author argues that Kashif al-Haqq is a distorted version of Hadiqat al-Shi'a, saying, In a bookshop in the city of Hyderabad in India, a book was seen which was written by selecting parts of Hadiqat al-Shi'a and which in many places was thought to have been written in the time of its author. Historically, there have been heated debates about the relationship between Hadiqat al-Shi'a and Kashif al-Haqq. According to the general opinion, Hadiqat al-Shi'a came into being when an unknown Shi'i scholar who produced texts against Sufis removed positive statements about Sufis from Kashif al-Haqq, added a treatise of refutation against Sufi thought, and named the new book Hadiqat al-Shi'a attributing the new book to al-Ardabili because of its importance in the Shi'ite tradition. Except for a few minor details, the author of Hadiqat al-Shi'a left almost no trace of his falsification. However, the fact that al-Ardabili did not refer to Hadikat al-Shi'a in any of his works and, more importantly, that no Shi'i scholar, especially the biographical and bibliographical resources, mentioned such a work of his until 1060/1650 are important factors that make the attribution of this work to al-Ardabili doubtful. In addition, one of the most important indications that the work does not belong to al-Ardabili is the mention of the death of Mirza Makhdum al-Shirazi. Reliable sources indicate that Mirza Mahdum died in 995/1587 and al-Ardabili in 993/1585. Therefore, it is not possible for al-Ardabili to have been aware of Mirza Makhdum's death. This is one of the most important indications that the work does not belong to al-Ardebili.