Miracles are the foundation for the Mythical Figure of Mystics Based on Joseph Campbell’s Theory

One of the controversial issues of Islamic mysticism is the conception of dignified power for Sufi sheikhs, which has a great semantic and content affinity with miracles. The difference is that miracles for the prophets are the extraordinary deeds of the saints. With the organization of sects in the middle of the fifth century AH and the severe weakness of the Seljuk government after the defeat of Sanjar (d. 552 AH) from Ghozan and the collapse of social and political conditions, miracles found a different symbolic dignity and referred to the superhuman works of the sect. Mystics are no longer mere spiritual persons; rather, they are portrayed as mythical heroes with divine power who break the divine order and laws governing nature. Miracles depict the path of the seeker’s journey like the journey of the hero of the myths, in which the sheikh went through a very difficult path in order to achieve such a superhuman power and benefit his disciples and supporters from it. Joseph Campbell's theory of monomyth (one myth) is very much in line with the seeker's spiritual journey. In this study, by collecting written mystical and historical sources related to the path of the mystic's movement to perfection and by matching those concepts to the three stages of separation, accession, and return of Campbell's theory, we can come to the conclusion that the purpose of creating miracles is the creation of mythical figures of mystics is to introduce them as religious heroes of the new age.