Existence and Death in the Light of Attar's Intuitive Experiences

Death has always been an important matter in human history. Everyone takes a stance on it based on his/her epistemological and ontological orientation and reaches psychological state, emotions and lifestyle as a result of essential beliefs in it. Some do not believe in the life after death; some feel afraid of it; and others, like Socrates, see the soul of the real philosopher as longing fordeath. Some have considered the grief over death to be unwise, because no one will ever experience death in life. According to some, the grief over death is pointless because we live a short life and would return to nonexistence before we realize it. Obviously, such an idea is based on the assumption that there is no world after death. In addition to these perceptions of death, differences could also be seen in the views of religious people. In Ashʿari theology, the man, despite piety, restlessly feels afraid of the “final moment”. In contrast, the intuitionists, and here Attar, basically have an approach to death which is the result of revelation; not just knowing and believing, and this is derived from their intuitive epistemology and ontology. Attar's view of existence and death is based on intuitive experience. These experiences emanate from man's encounter with the hidden layer of the universe. Attar maintains that intuitive perception is attained only through the language of dreams or the language of deep reflection. How existence has been depicted in Attar’s intuitive experiences and the impact this view has on the perception of death are the main problems of this article. To answer the question, Attar's Masnavies that both explain his mystical teachings and represent his states were analyzed. The results showed that Attar's attitude towards death emanates from his intuition-based epistemological and ontological view. Intuition is one of the means of acquiring recognition which is achieved via facing the depth or hidden layer of the universe.  His works show that without intuition there would be no way to reach the truth of existence and death. Ontologically, in contrast to the tangible and material world, which appears to be dreams and fantasies, there are many other worlds whose components, like tangible components of this world, move towards God passionately and with great love; the spiritual world and the world after death is buried below the surface of this world. According to Attar, existents in the universe apparently do their destined physical affairs but inwardly they yearn for moving towards the origin of the universe. Humans are generally caught in a mirage. The one who reaches the treasure at depth of the sea of the world will see God as a shining sun in this world. In the form of the allegory of Ayaz and the Sultan, the loving face of the Sultan is depicted, which is revealed only in intuition and by "leaving the number". God, the world and man are united. With such an attitude to existence, with death, the part reaches the whole and becomes the whole that was once separated from Him by form. Death can be experienced through quasi-death experiences like annihilation, the self-manifestation of God, and the experience of the state of resurrection in this world; such experiences is feasible for almost everyone. Some intuitive images of the mystic's encounter with death and eternal life are: appearance of the sun from nowhere, increase of light with death, feeling the sun inside, eating the sun, landing of the sun, and fading the dew in the sea. Mystics seem to live in two worlds simultaneously. Individuals will be able to have such experiences based on their efforts to transcend the external senses. Such an attitude will be effective in reducing the boredom of mundane life and giving meaning to existence and death. Death is not a tragic event at the end of life as mystics keep experiencing it in various forms in this world. Such an attitude is supported in Qur’an, the stories of the prophets, and the stories and experiences of the mystics. The man’s destiny is not separate from existence. Before self-purification, man, depending on the level of the universe, becomes enchanted by the light reflected from the sun, i.e. God, while he himself is a part of the light and like all existents is moving towards the source of light. In this view, with death, man goes to the whole as a part of it. Since God is light and has breathed from his soul into man, then return is the return of light to light. Such an attitude towards existence and death removes the boredom and gives life and death a different meaning. The exquisiteness of death experience is possible only through the intuitive understanding of the universe. In light of the intuitive experience of existence, death takes on a different color, and not only is its dreadfulness removed, but also it becomes a desirable thing and a prelude to a blissful union; which is what the mystics yearn for in their life.