A Study of the Notion of istiqnā'in Farīd al-Dīn Aṭṭār's Mantiq-ut-Tayr and the Impact of Islamic Theological Thoughts (Kalām) on It

The present paper examines, first, the various meanings of the notion of istiqnā' in Sufi tradition and subsequently, Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār's (d. 618/1221) definition of God's istiqnā', as well as the theological roots of this notion and how it has been raised from Abū al-Ḥasan al-ʿAshʿarī's (d. 324/936) teachings. It then provides identical instances of the notion in some other mystical texts, such as Shabistarī's (d. 740/1340) Gulshan-i Rāz (Garden of Mystery).For the first time, ʿAṭṭār designated the istiqnā'as one of the stages of his septet model in pursuing the mystical path. Nonetheless, his conception of istiqnā' has been occasionally misinterpreted in some oeuvres, taken as the mystic's istiqnā' rather than God's istiqnā'. In order to better understand this notion, one must initially develop precise perception of the underlying significations such as the King of Kingdom (mālik al-mulk), the absolute Will of the Real and causelessness accompanied with His Wisdom, as well as being cognizant of the consequences of God's istiqnā', including awe, bewilderment and fading the role of austerity and devoutness.