A Study of the Concept of Fear in Risalah Al-Qusyairiya Based on Kierkegaard's Considerations

One of the specific aspects of Kierkegaard’s thought، as one of the founders of existentialist philosophy، is the paradigm of anxiety، which has a very special position in the concept of faith. He believed that it is the most important way to receive the product of faith، and even considered it in the same level of importance as the faith itself. On the other hand، in Islamic mysticism، including Risalah al-Qusyairiyah، a similar approach in the reading of the concept of khowf (fear) is observed. Placing emphasis on the concept of anxiety as an innate matter، Kierkegaard views it in three interdependent scopes which are: freedom، possibility and paradox. These can be called the motifs of anxiety، which bear structural similarities with Abu al-Qasim al-Qusyairi opinions in his Risalah al-Qusyairiyah if considered through a comparative reading. Al-Qusyairi too puts stress on the dependence and correlation between the concept of khowf in mystical system and the topics of possibility، freedom and eternity. This research tries to prove this hypothesis.