Religious Experience in Islamic Culture
A considerable literature in Islamic culture is devoted to religious experience by using various terms and phrases such as inner and spiritual conditions, unveiling or knowledge of the heart (Kashf) and supernatural wonders (karamat), apparent and spiritual unveiling, revelations and inspirations (Elham), prophecies and true dreams, unveiling of the veiled, miracles, intuition and observations, knowledge of zoghy'yat (such as music, painting, literary skills and etc…), presential knowledge, mystical positions and others; however, their typology has not been well examined. Since the Quran, traditions, and scholars and mystics’ Maqamat/stations and conditions are three important sources of Islamic culture, they are covered in the present book, respectively. Chapter I addresses topics on the nature of religious experience in terms of genealogy, the psychology of religious experience, and the foundations of religious experience in the Islamic culture. Religious experiences are categorized based on Davis' six-dimensional religious experience classification as quasi-sensory, interpretive, revelatory, revitalizing, mystical, and heavenly experiences. In this study, the interpretive experience is eliminated, and the mystical and heavenly experiences are also dealt with in one chapter due to their low frequency. Therefore, quasi-sensory, revelatory, revitalizing, and mystical-heavenly religious experiences are discussed in four chapters with regard to the Quran, traditions, and mystics’ conditions. In addition to epistemological issues, the most important objective of this collection might be to exercise faith: The anecdotes and events of the religious experience are so pleasant that takes the readers to the heaven and open a window beyond nature to man.