A Glance at Manichean Mysticism and Its Comparison with Islamic Sufism and Mysticism

Manichaeism that was founded by the Iranian prophet Mani, is a gnostic faith that is classified among mystic religions. The central tenet of this faith is the descent of spirit from the spiritual realm and its entrapment in the material world, and that, man’s duty in this world is to give up this evil material world by mortification and abstemiousness in order to save his Divine spirit by purity of nature. Manichean tenets have managed to influence some Islamic sects, most notably the Islamic Sufism. Moreover, there are similarities between Manichean mysticism and Islamic Sufism and mysticism. In this study, we have first made a research into Manichaeism and its beliefs, then continued with reviewing its impact on rites and rituals of the Sufis and finally made a comparison between Manichean beliefs and the beliefs of Muslim theosophists to draw a conclusion.