A Comparative Study of the Transcendental Aspects of Surrealist Concepts in Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya

The most important surreal principles are imagination, automatic writing, objective accident, wonder and magic, and dreams and visions. Although this school was introduced and recognized in Europe, it had already been featured in various artistic arenas of world literature. One of these arenas is Sufi texts of Persian language which have long served as hallmarks of surrealism. Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya is also one of these texts. Although al-Qushayriyya treatise is one of the first written teachings of mysticism whose author is so cautious to rid his work of all that is suspicious such as fantasy, rhythm and automatic writing - supposed to exist in surrealism - its surrealistic features (including dream, wonder, madness and dementia, inability to reason, unity, condemnation and denial of the world, freedom, etc.) are prominent. Meanwhile, concepts such as sleep and disclosure of truth, wonder and dignity, insanity and rejection of the world are more frequent. It should also be said that almost all of the surrealistic components of this book have fundamental differences with similar concepts in the surrealistic realm. In case of automatic writing and release, the difference is remarkable. Such distinctions convey excellence and superiority of Al-Qushayri’s thought against surrealism. In addition, Al-Qushayri’s accuracy and obsession in raising these issues resulted in considering terms, conditions and steps for any concept which cannot be seen in Surrealism.