A Comparative Study of Ghiyath al-Din Dashtaki’s and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli’s Views on the Factors of Spiritual Wayfaring from a Foundational Perspective

This comparative study examines how two Islamic thinkers, Ghiyāth al-Din Dashtaki and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, conceptualize spiritual wayfaring. Both view the spiritual journey as a structured ascent integrating rational contemplation, ethical discipline, and mystical experience, culminating in unity with the Divine. Dashtaki proposes a tripartite model of preparatory virtues, principal foundations, and complementary perfections, while Javadi Amoli emphasizes poverty, guardianship, and four symbolic journeys, adding a social dimension. Despite historical and intellectual differences, the authors argue their perspectives converge on a theocentric model where mystical insight is inseparable from philosophical reasoning, illustrating continuity across Islamic intellectual traditions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The spiritual journey in Islamic wisdom aims at reaching the highest stage of perfection, which is direct intuitive knowledge of the Divine Reality. Achieving this goal demands accurate cognition, spiritual refinement, and guidance under a qualified master. This study examines the factors underlying spiritual wayfaring by comparing the foundations of Ghiyāth al-Din Dashtaki and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli. The research investigates how their philosophical premises shape their interpretation of spiritual stages and moral transformation, and how their mystical frameworks display shared roots despite temporal and intellectual distance. The analysis demonstrates that central elements such as rational contemplation, divine unity, ethical discipline, and existential poverty hold pivotal significance in defining the structure of the mystical path. Methodologically, this work adopts a descriptive–analytical approach and relies on primary mystical texts and philosophical sources. Based on this comparative reading, Dashtaki divides spiritual progress into preliminary preparations, principal foundations, and complementary perfections, each associated with specific virtues and psychological states. Conversely, Javadi Amoli grounds spiritual ascent in poverty (faqr), guardianship (wilāyah), and the fourfold journeys, culminating in unity and annihilation. Although the two scholars differ in emphasis—particularly regarding the social dimension of spirituality in Javadi Amoli’s thought—the similarities suggest continuity across intellectual traditions. The study concludes that their perspectives converge on a unified theocentric model in which mystical insight is inseparable from philosophical reasoning. Keywords: Knowledge, Wayfaring, Station, Javadi Amoli, Ghiyāth al-Din Dashtaki. IntroductionA central enterprise in Islamic philosophy and mysticism is to interpret spiritual wayfaring not merely as a personal ethical effort but as a disciplined process grounded in ontological certainty and epistemic orientation. The present study seeks to compare Ghiyāth al-Din Dashtaki and Ayatollah Javadi Amoli in terms of the foundational elements that define spiritual advancement in their thought. Although the two thinkers lived in distant intellectual environments, the underlying continuity of Islamic metaphysical discourse creates a fertile ground for examining their shared assumptions. Accordingly, this research aims to understand how foundations such as rational demonstration, illumination, anthropology, and the nature of existence influence the structure of the mystical path.Despite the abundance of literature on the mystical teachings of Javadi Amoli, studies presenting a structured comparison between him and Dashtaki are scarce. Moreover, due to historical and textual limitations, Dashtaki’s writings are relatively scattered and occasionally attributed to later scholars. This has constrained accurate scholarly reconstruction but has simultaneously made the comparative perspective more valuable. The significance of the research is twofold. First, from a theoretical perspective, it highlights the continuity of Islamic wisdom from classical Peripatetic philosophy through Illuminationism to contemporary Transcendent Theosophy. Second, at a practical level, the comparison helps clarify how intellectual principles translate into moral conduct and spiritual transformation. Thus, exploring the philosophical premises behind wayfaring provides insights into the dynamic interplay between metaphysical knowledge and ethical refinement in Islamic spirituality. Materials and MethodsConsidering its objectives, this study adopts a fundamental research design grounded in descriptive–analytical reasoning. Data collection was conducted through a classical library-based method, including printed manuscripts, edited texts, thematic studies, and academic databases. After extracting source material, the content was systematically categorized according to major themes such as ontology, epistemology, anthropology, and practical mysticism.The research proceeds by coding conceptual indicators, classifying the terms used by the two scholars, and identifying correspondences between their metaphysical assumptions and their spiritual frameworks. After establishing these correlations, the study applies comparative interpretation, assessing similarities and differences regarding the stages, conditions, and ultimate goals of wayfaring. Thus, the methodological framework integrates historical reading, conceptual reconstruction, critical comparison, and thematic synthesis. Research FindingsThe comparative analysis reveals that both Dashtaki and Javadi Amoli perceive spiritual wayfaring as a structured ascent that integrates psychological reformation, metaphysical realization, and ethical purification. Dashtaki proposes a tripartite structure comprising preparatory virtues, principal foundations, and complementary achievements. Key notions such as resolve, sincerity, worship, seclusion, and unity are presented not merely as moral traits but as existential transformations rooted in ontological unity and illuminative knowledge. His classification draws heavily on Peripatetic reasoning while simultaneously admitting illuminative intuition, thereby merging rational discipline with experiential unveiling.In contrast, Javadi Amoli frames wayfaring through an integrated view of anthropology and ontology, especially emphasizing poverty, guardianship, and the four symbolic journeys. His analysis differs in highlighting social and communal dimensions, situating spiritual advancement within the civilizational mission of divine monotheism. Although he relies on earlier Sufi heritage, his approach is deeply affected by the principles of Transcendent Philosophy, particularly gradational existence and intellectual witnessing. Consequently, while differences in vocabulary and emphasis occur, the convergence of both thinkers lies in their view of spiritual realization as a movement toward unity, annihilation in God, and the harmonization of reason and mystical experience. Discussion of Results and ConclusionsThe findings of this research indicate that the spiritual teachings of both Dashtaki and Javadi Amoli emerge from systems in which metaphysics provides the structural foundation of moral practice. Dashtaki, as an intermediary figure between Peripatetic and Illuminationist traditions, paved the intellectual ground for synthesizing rational inquiry with mystical unveiling. His model of wayfaring incorporates notions of self-transformation, inner witnessing, unity, and existential refinement. Javadi Amoli, inheriting the philosophical legacy of Mullā Ṣadrā, expands this synthesis through rational precision and metaphysical argumentation, while simultaneously grounding spiritual progress in social responsibility and theological guardianship.From a comparative viewpoint, their shared insistence on revelation-centered certainty demonstrates that Islamic mysticism is not autonomous from philosophy but is structured by it at its deepest levels. Philosophy shapes definitions of human identity, spiritual capacity, and the ontological hierarchy leading toward divine union. Mysticism, in turn, transforms philosophical propositions into lived experience and existential realization. Therefore, this research shows that both thinkers ultimately arrive at the same integrative horizon: rationally grounded spirituality, in which the soul ascends through graded existential intensification until achieving unity, witnessing, and annihilation. The convergence of two different historical figures thus reflects the persistent logic of Islamic wisdom in harmonizing intellect, experience, and revelation.