The Epistemic Value of Extrasensory Experience Based ‎on the Tradition of‏ ‏Prophet's Household

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Authors

1 ‎. PhD Candidate, Department of Nahj al-Balagha Sciences and Teachings, University of ‎Quran and Hadith, Qom, Iran (Corresponding Author)‎‏.‏

2 ‎. Associate Professor, Department of Nahj al-Balagha Sciences and Teachings, University of ‎Quran and Hadith, Qom, Iran

3 ‎. Professor, Department of Nahj al-Balagha Sciences and Teachings, University of Quran ‎and Hadith, Qom, Iran.‎

Abstract

Extrasensory experiences refer to the reception and perception of information from the outside world without the use of the five senses. These phenomena have many manifestations, including dreams, spiritual unveilings (mukashafa), inspiration (ilham), communication with spirits, divination, near-death experiences (NDEs), telepathy, and more. Such experiences have always accompanied humanity. During the Age of Occultation (Ghaybah), resorting to these experiences to gain religious knowledge is pursued for various purposes. Examining the epistemic value of ESPEs and analyzing them epistemologically becomes crucial due to the diversity of these experiences and the potential for Satanic interference. This article, using an analytical-descriptive method, investigates the arguments for and against the epistemic value of this phenomenon based on the tradition (Sirah) of Prophet's Household (AS). It also specifically analyzes the epistemic value of ESPEs according to Tradition of Prophet's Household, gathering necessary information through library research. The findings indicate that none of the Islamic narrations definitively confirm the epistemic validity of these experiences for non-infallible individuals, especially in the waking state. Furthermore, the likelihood of epistemic error, susceptibility to Satanic influences, and the weak evidentiary basis of many reports make the acceptance of these experiences difficult. Therefore, extrasensory experiences are valid only within the framework of revealed teachings and cannot be used as an independent source for religious knowledge.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

* Holy Quran
** Nahj al-Balaghah
Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali. (1413 AH). Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih (Vol. 4, 2nd ed.). Qom: Islamic Publications Office affiliated with the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary.[In Arabic]
Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali. (1376 AH). Al-Amali (Vol. 1, 6th ed.). Tehran: Ketabchi Publishing. [In Arabic]
Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali. (1376 AH). Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha (Vol. 2, 1st ed.). Tehran: Jahan Publishing. [In Arabic]
Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad. (1416 AH). Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Vol. 50, 1st ed.). Beirut: Al-Resalah Foundation. [In Arabic]
Ibn Hisham, Abd al-Malik. (1373 AH). Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Translator: Rafi' al-Din Ishaq ibn Muhammad Hamadani, 1st ed.). Tehran: Markaz Publishing.[In Persian]
Imani Moghadam, Mehdi. (1389 SH). Epistemological Criteria of Mystical Intuition. Faslnameh-ye Pazhoohesh-haye Eteghadi Kalmi (Quarterly Journal of Theological and Kalam Research), 5(19), pp. 7-40. [In Persian]
Afsari, Leila. (1389 SH). Mystical Revelation and the Study of its Validity in the Words of God and the Infallible Imams. Faslnameh-ye Adyan va Erfan (Quarterly Journal of Religions and Mysticism), 26, pp. 31-56. [In Persian]
Eftekhar, Mehdi; Zamani, Mehdi; Alamolhoda, Seyyed Ali; Azhdar, Alireza. (1390 SH). Criteria for the Validity of Mystical Intuitions. Do Faslnameh-ye Pazhooheshnameh-ye Erfan (Bi-annual Journal of Mysticism Research), 3(5), pp. 2-30. [In Persian]
Esmaeili, Masoud. (1396 SH). The Nature of Mystical Knowledge (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Tehran: Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute Publications Organization. [In Persian]
Bukhari, Muhammad ibn Ismail. (1410 AH). Sahih al-Bukhari (2nd ed.). Cairo: Lajnah Ihya Kutub al-Sunnah. [In Arabic]
Barqi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid. (1371 AH). Al-Mahasin (Vol. 2, 2nd ed.). Qom: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyah. [In Arabic]
Javadi, Mohsen; Moazami Goudarzi, Alireza. (1386 SH). Mystical Intuition and its Epistemological Value. Faslnameh-ye Andisheh-ye Dini-ye Daneshgah-e Shiraz (Quarterly Journal of Religious Thought of Shiraz University), 25, pp. [Page numbers missing in original text]. https://doi.org/10.22099/jrt.2013.1294. [In Persian]
Javadi Amoli, Abdullah. (1393 SH). Epistemology in the Quran (8th ed.). Qom: Esra. [In Arabic]
Haeri Shirazi, Muhammad. (1399 SH). The Epistemic Value of Mystical Experience from the Perspective of the Quran and Hadith. Qom: University of Quran and Hadith, Qom. [In Persian]
Helli, Sayyid Ibn Tawus. (1406 AH). Falah al-Sail (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Qom: Islamic Propaganda Office of Qom Seminary. [In Arabic]
Helli, Sayyid Ibn Tawus. (1411 AH). Mahaj al-Da'awat wa Manhaj al-Ibadat (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Qom: Dar al-Dhakhair. [In Arabic]
Davies, Caroline Franks. (1989 CE). The Epistemic Value of Religious Experience (Translators: Ali Shirvani and Hossein Ali Sheidan Sheid, 1st ed.). Qom: Research Institute of Hawzah and University. [In Persian]
Ranjbar, Soheila. (1392 SH). The Nature and Types of Unveiling and direct witnessing from the Perspective of Mulla Sadra and Ibn Arabi. Qom: University of Qom. [In Persian]
Rahimian, Saeed. (1381 SH). Mystical Experience and its Criterion of Authority. Ghabasat (Ghabasat Journal), 26, pp. 43-50. [In Persian]
Shatibi, Abu Ishaq. (1420 AH). Al-I'tisam (2nd ed.). Beirut: Dar al-Ma'rifah.
Shobeiri, Seyyed Mohammad Javad. (1370 SH). Sheikh Mufid and the Book Ikhtisas. Noor-e Elm (Light of Knowledge), 40, pp. 60-81. [In Persian]
Saffar, Muhammad ibn Hasan. (1404 AH). Basair al-Darajat fi Fadail Al Muhammad (Vol. 1, 2nd ed.). Qom: Maktabat Ayatollah al-Marashi Najafi. [In Arabic]
Tabataba'i, Sayyid Muhammad Hussein. (1381 SH). Risalat al-Wilayah (Translator: Sadegh Hassanzadeh, 3rd ed.). Qom: Bakhshayesh Publishing. [In Persian]
Tusi, Muhammad ibn Hasan. (1420 AH). Fihrist Kutub al-Shi'ah wa Usulihim wa Asma al-Musannifin wa Ashab al-Usul (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Qom: Maktabat al-Muhaqqiq Tabataba'i. [In Arabic]
Tusi, Muhammad ibn Hasan. (1411 AH). Misbah al-Mutahajjid (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Beirut: Mu'assasah Fiqh al-Shi'ah. [In Arabic]
Enaghah, Abdolreza; Fatemi, Seyyed Reza. (1391 SH). Criteria for Assessing Intuitive Knowledge. Faslnameh-ye Zehn (Quarterly Journal of Mind), 49, pp. 31-52. [In Persian]
Asqalani, Ahmad ibn Ali. (1406 AH). Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Editor: Muhammad Awamah, Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Aleppo: Dar al-Rashid. [In Arabic]
Ayyashi, Muhammad ibn Mas'ud. (1380 AH). Tafsir al-Ayyashi (Vol. 2, 1st ed.). Tehran: Al-Matba'ah al-Ilmiyah. [In Arabic]
Gharavi, Hasan. (1392 SH). Investigation of the Epistemological Value of Unveiling and direct witnessing from Ibn Arabi's Viewpoint. Qom: Baqir al-Olum University. [In Persian]
Fazli, Ali. (1396 SH). Criterion for Measuring Existential Intuitive Propositions (2nd ed.). Tehran: Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute Publications Organization. [In Persian]
Fanaei Eshkevari, Mohammad. (1397 SH). Mystical Experience and Inner Intuition. Faslnameh-ye Zehn (Quarterly Journal of Mind), Special Issue on Philosophy of Mysticism, Vol. (19), pp. 157-182. [In Persian]
Ghaeminia, Alireza. (1393 SH). Quran and Epistemology (1st ed.). Tehran: Islamic Culture and Thought Research Institute Publications Organization. [In Persian]
Qorbani, Kobra. (1396 SH). Philosophical Analysis of Revelation and its Epistemic Consequence. Mazandaran: University of Mazandaran. [In Persian]
Qanbari, Bakhshali. (1392 SH). Unveiling Knowledge in Nahj al-Balaghah. Adabiyat-e Erfani va Ostooreh Shenakhti (Mystical and Mythological Literature), 33, pp. 207-235. https://B2n.ir/hr7195. [In Persian]
Qaysari, Dawud. (1375 SH). Sharh Fusus al-Hikam) A Commentary on The Bezels of Wisdom( (1st ed.). Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publications. [In Persian]
Kabir, Yahya; Abdoli Mesinan, Marzieh. (1394 SH). The Place of Revelation and Intuition in the System of Religious Knowledge and its Criterion of Veridicality from the Perspective of Islamic Mystics. Falsafeh-ye Din-e Daneshgah-e Tehran (Philosophy of Religion of Tehran University), Vol. (12), pp. 87-110. https://doi.org/10.22059/jpht.2015.53964. [In Persian]
Kashshi, Muhammad ibn Umar. (1409 AH). Rijal al-Kashshi - Ikhtiyar Ma'rifat al-Rijal (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Mashhad: University of Mashhad Publishing Institute. [In Arabic]
Kalantar, Ebrahim. (1389 SH). Extrasensory Perceptions and the Quran. Pazhoohesh-haye Quran va Hadith (Quran and Hadith Research), 43, pp. 133-152. [In Persian]
Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub. (1407 AH). Al-Kafi (Vol. 8, 4th ed.). Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyah. [In Arabic]
Kohsari, Seyyed Ishaq. (1389 SH). Revelation and Mystical Intuition. Faslnameh-ye Falsafeh-ye Din-e Daneshgah-e Tehran (Quarterly Journal of Philosophy of Religion of Tehran University), 7, pp. 141-171. [In Persian]
Mazandarani, Muhammad Salih ibn Ahmad. (1382 SH). Sharh al-Kafi - al-Usul va al-Rawdah (Vol. 12, 1st ed.). Tehran: Al-Maktabah al-Islamiyah. [In Arabic]
Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir. (1404 AH). Mir'at al-Uqul fi Sharh Akhbar Al al-Rasul (Vol. 26, 2nd ed.). Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyah. [In Arabic]
Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir. (1403 AH). Bihar al-Anwar al-Jami'ah li Durar Akhbar al-A'immah al-Athar (Vol. 111, 2nd ed.). Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi. [In Arabic]
Mohammad Rezaei, Mohammad. (1381 SH). A Look at Religious Experience. Ghabasat (Ghabasat Journal), 26, pp. 3-22. [In Persian]
Mas'udi, Ali ibn Hussein. (1384 SH). Ithbat al-Wasiyyah li al-Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (1st ed.). Qom: Ansariyan Publications. [In Arabic]
Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad. (1413 AH). Al-Fusul al-Mukhtarah (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Qom: Congress of Sheikh Mufid. [In Arabic]
Attributed to Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad. (1413 AH). Al-Ikhtisas (Vol. 1, 1st ed.). Qom: Al-Mu'tamar al-Alami li Alfiyyah al-Sheikh al-Mufid. [In Arabic]
Najashi, Ahmad ibn Ali. (1365 SH). Rijal al-Najashi (Vol. 1, 6th ed.). Qom: Islamic Publishing Institute affiliated with the Society of Teachers. [In Arabic]
Kelly, Emily W., & Kelly, Edward F. (Eds.). (2007). Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Rhine, J. B. (1934). Extra-Sensory Perception. Boston: Bruce Humphries.
Stevenson, I. (1974). Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
Targ, R. (2012). The Reality of ESP: A Physicist's Proof of Psychic Abilities. Chicago: Quest Books.
Tart, Charles T. (1969). Altered States of Consciousness. New York: Harper Row.
 

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics