Document Type : Original Article
Author
Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Velayat University
Abstract
In Suhrawardī's thought, Khamīra-yi Azalī (the Primordial Leaven) denotes a sacred and transhistorical reality that accounts for the origin and continuity of divine wisdom. René Guénon likewise articulates this reality through the doctrine of the Primordial Tradition, whose epistemological core is metaphysical knowledge—that is, the knowledge of universal and immutable principles, attainable only through intellectual intuition and direct spiritual realization rather than discursive reasoning. Both thinkers identify the historical manifestations of this primordial principle in such themes as metaphysical knowledge, the divine nature of the human being, the distinction between the Intellect and discursive reason, intuitive knowledge, the symbolism of the eye of the heart and the light of the soul, the spiritual authority of saints, spiritual realization, and symbolic language. The present study investigates whether these fundamental characteristics are structurally embodied in Rumi's Masnavi-ye Ma'navi. Employing a descriptive-analytical method within a comparative hermeneutical framework, it examines these themes in the Masnavi and argues that Rumi rearticulates them independently within the Qur'anic and Islamic mystical tradition. The findings indicate that the relationship between the Masnavi and the conceptual framework developed by Suhrawardī and Guénon should not be understood in terms of historical influence, but rather as a structural and phenomenological correspondence. Accordingly, Khamīra-yi Azalī may serve as a productive hermeneutical framework for interpreting the epistemological structure and symbolic worldview of the Masnavi.
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