Abstract:

Abstract One of the most important topics in Islamic thought is being a messenger of Allah. Thus, the theologians, philosophers and the Sûfîs have thoroughly examined the issues of being a messenger of Allah. The irfaan, which is one of the important links of the Islamic cultural heritage and closely related to the being a messenger of Allah, is have two aspects as theoretical and practical. Theoretical irfaan discussed all aspects of the nature of being a messenger of Allah, the relation between being a messenger of Allah and walayah and the sections of the being a messenger of Allah. However, in all gnostic movements, the valayet occupies a central position. Being a messenger of Allah is a part of the public valayet according to the Gnostics. Al-Jabri, who applied a new reading and classification to the Islamic scientific, cultural and philosophical experience, evaluated the said heritage in three main titles. These were profession, evidence and irfaan. Al-Jabri considered that irfaan as a whole was not originated in Islam. According to him, the source of irfaan was pre-Islamic cultures, especially Hermeticism. According to Al-Jabri, epistemologically the Sunni irfaan and Shi'i irfaan on being a messenger of Allah were the same. He thinks that the distinction between these two concepts was ideological and political. The present study aimed to scrutinize Al_jabri’s approach to irfaan, its origins and his similarities and differences with the Gnostics and the approaches of Sunni and Shi’i irfaan to being a messenger of Allah.

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