Transformation of the mystical character of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabili in the three versions of Safwat al-safa

After the death of Sheikh Zahed and the election of Sheikh Safi al-Din as his successor and the transfer of the Zahediyya sect to the Safavid sect, changes were made in the Safavid sect and were gradually reflected in the Safavat al-Safa (صفوهالصفا (versions. These changes, which began during the life of Sheikh Safi al-Din and were reflected in versions close to the author's version, were intensified during the pre-Safavid and Safavid eras and also found their way into the royal versions. Using both historical and typological analysis methods, this study examines how the mystical personality of Sheikh Safi al-Din was transformed in three versions of Safavat al-Safa from the time of the Sheikh to the leadership of the Safavid rulers and shows the process of their inclusion in the versions. Therefore, the change of Sheikh Safi al-Din's mystical personality in terms of historical periodization in the three periods of "Sheikh Safi al-Din's lifetime", "Leadership of the leaders of the sect", and "Leadership of the Safavid rulers" has taken place. In this regard, the image of Sheikh Safi al-Din has also changed "from a follower of the Zahediyya sect to a follower of the Safavid sect: the period of Sheikh Safi al-Din's life", from "leadership of Tarighat to Hosseini Nasab political mentor: the period of leadership of Tarighat leaders, and from "Husseini Nasab political mentor to the divine mentor of the preacher of Husseini's Shiite mysticism: the era of the leadership of the Safavid rulers".