A Critical Examination of Proponent and Opponent Views on the Science of Letters (ʿIlm al-Ḥurūf) in Islamic Thought

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

“Ph.D. in Islamic Mysticism and the Thought of Imam Khomeini, Faculty of Mysticism and Religions, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran.”

10.22061/orj.2025.12146.896

Abstract

The science of letters (ʿilm al-ḥurūf), as an ancient branch of esoteric disciplines in Islamic mysticism, has always been situated between two opposing poles of mystical endorsement and rational-theological rejection. The main problem of this study is to determine the epistemic status of this science within the structure of Islamic knowledge, especially in relation to the tension between reason and intuition. Accordingly, the aim of the article is to provide an analytical examination of both affirmative and critical approaches to the science of letters and to clarify the scope and limits of its epistemic validity. Employing an analytical–comparative method and drawing on textual and documentary sources, the study first expounds the ontological and symbolic foundations of the science of letters in the thought of mystics such as Ibn ʿArabī, Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī and Imam Khomeini, and traces its historical development and spiritual functions. It then analyzes the main philosophical and theological critiques advanced in modern scholarship. The findings indicate that, despite methodological challenges such as reliance on individual intuitions and the lack of clear criteria for verification, the science of letters constitutes a complex and multilayered structure within Islamic mysticism, in which religious experience, symbolic language and esoteric exegesis play a central role.

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Journal of Ontological Researches
Volume 14, Issue 28
March 2026
Pages 269-297

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