A Study of the Rise of Shi ite Gnosis in Ibn Sina's Life and Works with an Emphasis on his Ideas in Namat al- arifin

A gnostic’s method of unveiling entails the purification of the soul, self-refinement, and observation of divine traditions and duties. Islamic gnosis is divided into two theoretical and practical types. In Ibn Sina’s view, any opposition to gnosis and gnostics is due to being ignorant of the station of gnostics. Similarly, any agreement with gnostics and respecting and appreciating them result from being cognizant of their supreme status. Naturally, people usually stand against and oppose what is unknown to them. After demonstrating the necessity of piety and worship as the necessary conditions for happiness, Ibn Sina maintains that they are not enough for attaining this goal and considers gnosis to be superior to the above qualities. However, he emphasizes that a gnostic is an individual who is not content even with attaining the status of being a true gnostic and prefers truth to gnosis. The Shi‘ite gnosis relies on a treasure of traditions and prayers in addition to Qura’nic verses. In the history of gnosis, Ibn Arabi (died in 638 AH) and Seyyed Haydar Amuli (died in 787 or 794 AH) are called the fathers of Islamic and Shi‘ite gnosis. Ibn Sina (died in 428 AH) enjoys great fame in the eye of the public in the fields of Peripatetic philosophy and medicine and has been called the new Aristotle; however, he has not developed a great name in the field of gnosis. Nevertheless, a study of his life and works prove the opposite. There is no doubt about his being a Shi‘ite Muslim; hence, this paper aims to demonstrate that the fundamental principles of the kind of gnosis he discusses in his works were developed under the influence of Shi‘ite gnosis (although the related references have not been directly mentioned in Ibn Sina’s works).