Mystical ethics in the challenge of identity with practical mysticism

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Islamic Ethics, Faculty of Islamic Knowledge and Thought, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Faculty Member, Department of Islamic Ethics, Faculty of Islamic Knowledge and Thought, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 Faculty member and associate professor, University of Tehran Department of Islamic Ethics, Faculty of Education and Islamic Thought

10.22059/jikt.2026.389194.1018

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to provide a comprehensive definition of Mystical Ethics and to clarify the criteria that distinguish it from Practical Mysticism, based on established criteria for the differentiation of academic disciplines.
Method: The research adopts an analytical–explanatory approach grounded in library-based study. It first outlines the recognized criteria for distinguishing disciplines—namely subject matter (mawḍūʿ), purpose (gharaḍ), and issues (masāʾil). Within this conceptual framework, Mystical Ethics and Practical Mysticism are then systematically compared.
Findings: The findings indicate that the subject matter of Mystical Ethics is the human soul insofar as it pertains to its attributes and actions. Its ultimate aim is the recognition and purification of the soul’s virtues and vices, culminating in the realization of the divine character (al-akhlāq al-ilāhiyya) on the basis of the metaphysical foundations of Islamic mysticism. In contrast, the subject of Practical Mysticism concerns the spiritual stations (maqāmāt) and inner states (aḥwāl) of the wayfarer (sālik), and its ultimate goal is the realization of annihilation (fanāʾ) and subsistence (baqāʾ) in God.
Conclusion: The study concludes that Mystical Ethics constitutes a distinct approach within the discipline of Islamic ethics. Although it maintains a close conceptual and structural relationship with Practical Mysticism, it is not identical with it. A precise distinction between the two provides a coherent theoretical framework for the systematic employment of the capacities of Mystical Ethics in moral cultivation and spiritual education.

Keywords

Research Journal of Islamic Knowledge and Thought

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 February 2026

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