Mystical Epistemology in the works of Ayatollah Javadi Amoli

Ayatollah Javadi’s mastery of philosophical and mystical principles has led to a detailed analysis of mystical knowledge in a philosophical form. One of these is the epistemology of mystical knowledge. This thesis, using the descriptive-analytical method, seeks to discover the principles of Ayatollah Javadi in the form of the nature, validity and method of acquiring mystical knowledge. He has clarified all these infrastructures and superstructures by philosophical analysis of the nature of mystical knowledge. In such a way that mystical knowledge has no relation with sense and intellect due to its being presence; so for that purpose we need a third tool called the heart. The heart also understands mystical knowledge as certainty by vision or certainty by truth. The levels of certainty by vision are the state of Manamiyyah (dream), the state of Motiyyah (death), and the state of Qiamatiyya (resurrection), and the levels of certainty by truth are parallel to the four divines of existence, in the highest level of that is the Muhammadian reality. On the other hand, the validity of mystical knowledge is accepted in part because of its being presence but in cases of error, it refers to the standards of correctness of mystic intuition, such as the “Shari’a” and the “intellect” and the “mystical intuitions of the great mystics”. According to the perception of presence by the heart and the perception of concept by the sense and intellect, the validity of knowledge becomes sense, intellect and heart, respectively. For the sake of being present, achieving mystical knowledge is not through education and teaching, but it is a science that is possible through action and strengthening the heart. Piety is the baggage of the path and love is the palfrey of the path, and outward and inward sin also hinders this path.