Knowledge and Pseudo- knowledge in the works of Mullā Sulṭānmuḥammad Gunābādī, Sulṭān ‘Alī Shāh 

The controversial topic of knowledge and pseudo-knowledge cannot be discussed without introducing and speaking about Sufis in Qājār era. When Safavids came to power, Shi‘ite mystics of that era such as Fayḍ Kāshānī, Mullā Ṣadrā and Shaykh Bahā’ī began to emphasize even more on the reality of religious knowledge. About two centuries later, when Qājārs took power, Persia witness the solidification of religious sciences, as Shi‘ite seminary schools observed a number of great scholars and theosophers. Among these mystics, Mullā Sulṭānmuḥammad Gunābādī, with the spiritual title of Sulṭān ‘Alī Shāh (d. 1327 A. H./1909 C. E.) was a great figure on reviving the concept of ‘ilm Ḥaqīqī, the real knowledge. He believed that real knowledge was more than fiqh (jurisprudence) and Kalām (scholastic theology). This talk investigates the views of Sulṭān ‘Alī Shāh on knowledge and pseudo-knowledge and embarks on explaining in more detail the importance of this figure in the history on Shi‘ite Sufism.