Pages: 14-24

Abstract

The second half of fifth century and the whole of sixth century are regarded as the most important cultural and scientific eras of Iranian history. In this era, numerous effective works have been authored in the fields of Quranic exegesis, mysticism, and sufism. Two books etitled Bahr al-Mahabah fi Asrar al-Mavadah [The Sea of Love: Concerning the Mysteries of Friendship] that is alledgedly written by Ahmad Ghazali and Al-Settin al-Jameh Leltaef al-Basatin [Comprehensive Sixty] authored by Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Tusi are among the mystical exegetical works on the interpretation of Chapter 12 of Holy Quran, i.e. Joseph, that have been published about the same historical era one in Arabic and the other in Persian. Having taken the definitional, descriptive and historical aspects of the question of interpretation and mysticism, this seeks to make a comparison between these two books as commentaries of mystical, sapiential and moral points of Quran using a descriptive-historical-analytic method. A study of these two works along with a comparative and contrastive criticism of them which are criticizable from various perspectives, seem very broad and extensive. This shows the necessity of conducting an independent research in this regard.