Studying the Inexpressibility Obstacles of Mystical Experiences in Masnavies by Attar (Ilahi-Nama, Mantiq al-Tair, Mosibat-Nama)

The incapability of vocabularies in expressing mystical experiences is called inexpressibility. Those with mystical experiences consider their mystical awareness outside the extent of understanding and description. In fact, they believe a mystic can reach a kind of awareness and perception which is beyond common wisdom and hence cannot be expressed. In his mystical experience, the mystic looks at an aspect of truth which is far beyond the ordinary conceptual frameworks of experiences. This aspect of experience has neither been imagined nor could be imagined. In other words, language and words fail to express such experiences. Inexpressibility is considered one of the integral elements of mystic experiences. For mystics, expressing mystical facts and concepts has constantly been difficult and has hindered them from expressing the spiritual states. The chief obstacles include subject, interlocutors, speech, and listeners which lead to inexpressibility of sublime mystical facts. The mystic’s astonishment makes him encounter the obstacles of fathoming abstract subject matters; expressing the grandeur and complexity of the truths; and sharing them with others. Sometimes, the interlocutor is the obstacle. This occurs when those engrossed in mystical truths, at the time of the appearance and disclosure of the truth, are overcome by senses of divine drunkenness and lose their ability to express the mystical truths. The mystic loses his patience and continence in this state of unconsciousness and transcends the spatial and temporal realm. Accordingly, he loses the control over his language and fails to express the mystical experiences. Sometimes the experiencer due to reaching subsistence after passing away or awareness after abolition is able to express his mystical experiences; however, limitations inherent in the world of language and vocabulary stop him. Vocabularies have been defined to describe concrete and mundane perceptions related to human’s sphere of knowledge; nonetheless, mystical experiences appear in revelation which is outside the realm of science and intellect. Therefore, it is not logical to expect the words to be able to express the issues outside this realm. Accordingly, they make the mystic face obstacles expressing the truth. The other obstacle is the listener. It occurs when the speaker is able to express the surface or a layer of the issue; however, the listener is not sufficiently competent to fathom and appreciate the message. The authors have classified the reasons for inexpressibility of mystical experiences as the following: The grandeur of mystical experience issue; The inability of the interlocutor to express mystical experiences; explained through theory of emotions; The incapability of vocabularies and speech in explaining the nature of mystical language and hence transmutation of speech during the experience; Listener obstacle to receive the message; explained through theory of spiritual blindness and keeping mystical secrets from outsiders. Like other mystics, Farid-e-Din Attar Neyshabouri has explicated different forms of inexpressibility of mystical experiences in his works while acknowledging his inability to express the mystical truths. The current study aims to discover the reasons for inexpressibility of mystical experiences. In other words, we attempt to display the inherent weakness of language which makes mystics unable to express their mystical experiences while fathoming them. Besides, we intend to study the reflection and frequency of this basic mystical issue in the works of Neyshabouri. The present study, which is a descriptive-analytical one, has analyzed three collections including Ilahi-Nama, Mantiq al-Tair,and Mosibat-Nameh. The number of verses representing the mentioned obstacles, as referred to by Attar in these three collections, is as follows: In Ilahi-Nama, there exist 6511 verses in which 86 represent the issues, 80 represent speakers, 17 represent the speech and 52 represent listeners. In Mantiq al-Tair, there totally exist 4600 verses in which 195 represent the issues, 327 represent the interlocutors, 6 represent the speech and 52 represent the listeners. In Mosibat-Nameh,there totally exist 7593 verses in which 155 represent the issues, 133 represent interlocutors, 25 represent speech and 123 represent listeners. The findings reveal that issues and interlocutors have higher frequencies than speech and listeners. The content of Attar poems considering the aforesaid obstacles demonstrates that understanding the greatness of God’s knowledge (the issue obstacle), self-absence, and lack of knowledge or ignorance about the reality of intuition (interlocutor obstacle) are the chiefs obstacles that make the profound mystical thoughts inexpressible.