Iran’s Islamic Revolution can be regarded as a turning point in contemporary history, serving as a resurgence of spirituality in the social and civilizational life of Iranians, which paved the way for new perspectives on the relationship between mysticism and politics.
Employing a historical–civilizational approach and a mystical hermeneutic, this study draws upon the capacity of the authentic tradition of Islamic mysticism (ʿIrfān) to demonstrate the possibility of a spirituality‑based interpretation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution within the framework of the “Four Journeys” (al‑Asfār al‑Arbaʿah).
This proposed framework, derived from the thought of Ibn ʿArabī, Ṣadr al‑Muta’allihīn (Mullā Ṣadrā), and Imam Khomeini, utilizes conceptual and comparative analysis of mystical sources alongside historical data of the Revolution to explain the spiritual–civilizational trajectory of the Iranian people within the context of the Revolution.
The originality of the research lies in its focus on the popular dimension of the Revolution, demonstrating the possibility of reading it as the outcome of all four mystical journeys, and mapping the stations (manāzil) of the spiritual wayfaring of the Iranian nation along the path of the Islamic Revolution in a clear and accessible manner.
The findings indicate that this mystical framework is capable of revealing the connection between the spiritual, social, and civilizational dimensions of the Revolution, and can provide a suitable criterion for assessing and enhancing the role of spirituality in contemporary society.