The hereafter in the context of 'Alā al-Dawla al-Simnānī's understanding of mystical training

Abstract

The hereafter, one of the main pillars of Islam, has been discussed by both theologi-ans and Sūfīs from various angles and interpreted in many different ways. Although there is consensus on the main subjects, there are a lot of controversies in details. One of the Sūfīs who authored on diverse problems over the hereafter is 'Alā' al-Dawla al-Simnānī (d. 736/1336). He was a Kubrawī shaykh during the Īlkhānid era. He inclined towards the Sūfī path after serving the Buddhist ruler Arghun (r. 1284-1291) for ten years, thanks to a spir-itual experience he had. He met with Nūr al-dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān al-Isfarāyīnī (d. 717/1317), a Kubrawī shaykh based in Baghdad, and became a disciple of him, granted ijāza (a certificate of authority) from him. Upon his shaykh's order, he turned back to his hometown and spent his life until his death, in his Sūfī lodge raising disciples and writing works. He had contributed greatly both to his own order and to the literature of Sūfism with his disciples and written works. As regards to the hereafter, his opinions on the reality of this world and its position against the next, death, the doomsday and its kinds, the existence of the paradise and the hell today and their present location are remarkable. In this article, his views over those problems are discussed in the context of his understanding of mystical training.