A ''shath'' ( ar, شطح ''šaṭḥ'', plural: ''šaṭaḥāt'' or ''šaṭḥiyyāt''), in the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic mystical tradition of

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, is an

ecstatic Ecstasy () is a subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of their awareness. In classical Greek literature, it refers to removal of the mind or body "from its normal place of function." Total involvement with ...

utterance which may be outrageous in character. The word is derived from the root š-ṭ-ḥ, which carries the sense of overflowing or outpouring caused by agitation. Famous ''shathiyat'' include “Glory be to me, how great is my majesty” by

Bayazid Bastami Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr bin ʿĪsā bin Surūshān al-Bisṭāmī (al-Basṭāmī) (d. 261/874–5 or 234/848–9), commonly known in the Iranian world as Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī ( fa, بایزید بسطامی), was a PersianWalbridge, John. " ...

and “I am the Truth” by

Mansur Al-Hallaj Al-Hallaj ( ar, ابو المغيث الحسين بن منصور الحلاج, Abū 'l-Muġīth Al-Ḥusayn bin Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj) or Mansour Hallaj ( fa, منصور حلاج, Mansūr-e Hallāj) ( 26 March 922) ( Hijri 309 AH) was a Pe ...

. Sufi authors sometimes claimed that such utterances were misquotations or attributed them to immaturity, madness, or intoxication. At other times they regarded them as authentic expressions of spiritual states, even profoundest experience of divine realities, which should not be manifested to the unworthy. Many Sufi authors, including

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...

, showed ambivalence about apparently blasphemous nature of some ''shathiyat'', while admiring the spiritual status of their authors. The heyday of ''shath'' occurred during the classical period of Sufism from the ninth to twelfth century AD (the third to sixth century AH). The principal Sufi interpretation of the ''shathiyat'' which took the form of "I am" sayings contrasted the permanence of God (''baqā’'') with the mystical annihilation of the individual ego (''fanā’''), which made it possible for God to speak through the individual. They later figured as ''

topoi In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally: on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notion ...

'' of Persian

Sufi poetry Sufi literature consists of works in various languages that express and advocate the ideas of Sufism. Sufism had an important influence on medieval literature, especially poetry, that was written in Arabic, Persian, Turkic and Urdu. Sufi doctri ...

(especially that of

Farid al-Din Attar Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; fa, ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn () and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a PersianRitter, H. ( ...

) before being reduced by later Sufis to mere allegories for

Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...

's philosophy. Because the legal notion of blasphemy was not clearly defined in Islamic law, ''shathiyat'' were treated inconsistently by legal authorities. In practice, since apostasy was subsumed in the category of ''

zandaqa Zindīq (pl. zanādiqa) is a medieval Islamic term applied by Muslims to individuals who are considered to hold views or follow practices that are contrary to central Islamic dogmas.. Zandaqa is the noun describing these views. Zanadiqa is usuall ...

'', which reflected the Zoroastrian legacy of viewing heresy as a political crime, ''shathiyat'' were prosecuted only when it was desired by political authorities. Thus, such prosecutions mostly resulted from “personal vendetta, subversion of the state and party factionalism”.Ernst (1985) 101, 109, 115, 117. Because of their opposition to religious norms, these ecstatic utterances play an important role in the conception of Islamic Antinomianism.

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Bibliography

* Islamic terminology Sufism Ancient Persian mystical literature {{Sufism-stub

See also

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Bibliography