Shottar Path and Special-Mode Path in Abd al-Razzaq Kashani’s Futowat-Name

In Sufi ways the idea of "closest path" has always received much attention; for instance, Najm al-Din Kobra’s "Shottar path" and Ibn Arabi’s Special-Mode path" have been respectively introduced by them as the "closest path to God”. Hossein Kharazmi and some other followers of Kebrooyeh, consider the main motifs of "Special-Mode path", also called "the path without mediator" and "Shottar path" to be the same. However, some researchers have not accepted this idea and consider "Shottar path" as a part of practical gnosis of Khorasan, but consider "Special-Mode path" as a part of theoretical gnosis of Ibn Arabi’s ideology. This article attempts to review this issue using Abd al-Razzaq Kashani’s Futowat-Name; because Kashani has had knowledge about practical gnosis as well as theoretical one, unlike some other mystics, and has followed the likes of Abd al-Samad Natanzi. He is a man of word and practice, and was called "the wisest of sages" by Ibn al-Futi. In his book, Kashani used the word "Futowat", meaning "the enlightenment of human nature" instead of "Shottar" and used "Special-Mode" in its connotative meaning. Findings show that this idea was transferred to Kharazmi and others by Gheysari, one of the famous students of Kashani. The concept of "Special-Mode" can be equivalent of "Waqfe" or "direct connection" in the ideology of Abd al-Jabbar Nafari. In the eye of this anonymous mystic, "Waqifs" have achieved "Varidi Qurb" through "the way of secrets". Later, Ibn Arabi describes "Waqfe" with the term "Special-Mode" as the closest way of connection between God and his servants in a stable way. This article attempts to say that "Ibn Arabi’s Special-Mode" in the description of "Waqifs" and "Malamatiyyas" is in accord with "people of Futowat" in Kashani’s ideology and "Shettar path" in Najm Kobra’s ideology