The Place and Role of ‘Khavātir’ ‎in the Mystical Conduct of the First Mystical Tradition

The themes and topics of mystical conduct or Soluk are divided into two general categories of acquisitive and non-acquisitive. Acquisitive issues for every seeker can be accessed through the effort, but non-acquisitive ones are accessed by the seekers involuntarily and are not accessible for everyone; therefore, they are referred to as Vāridat. One of the most important mystical Vārid is ‘Khavātir’, which has always been the focus of mystics and elders of the first mystical tradition because of its great importance. Despite the great importance of Khavātir, in none of the mystical patterns presented by mystics and the Sufis, the place of Khavātir is  clear. In fact, in many mystical texts and sayings of the elder Sufis, there are expressions and references about Khavātir, but all these issues are incoherent and scattered and do not explicitly explain the place of Khavātir in the system of Soluk. This present study investigates the role and place of Khavātir by analyzing the meaning of the sayings of the elders of the first mystical tradition of Islamic mysticism about Khātir’. The findings show that Khavātir, at all stages of the Soluk, may enter the seeker and slow down and prevent him from continuing the journey, or may increase the seeker’s power and speed. In fact, Khavātir are the background of all levels and behavioral practices of Soluk, and from the beginning, it is necessary for the seeker to become familiar with all the types and methods to avoid them, so they do not hinder his journey but strengthen his acceleration and power for continuing the Soluk.