Concept

Hujwiri's Argument for the Superiority of the Prophets over the Saints in Kashf al-Mahjub

Concept

In Section 25 of Kashf al-Mahjub, Hujwiri distills a core doctrine of the Sufi path (tariqat) concerning the rank of prophets (anbiya) relative to saints (awliya):

  • In every state and station, and by the consensus of the masters of this path, the saints are followers of the prophets and affirmers of their call. The prophets are therefore superior.
  • The reason: the end (nihayat) of saintship is only the beginning (bidayat) of prophethood. Every prophet is also a saint, but no saint is a prophet.
  • The prophets are firmly established (mutamakkin) in transcending the attributes of human nature, whereas the saints hold this only as something borrowed (ariyat).
  • What is a passing state (hal) for the saints is a fixed station (maqam) for the prophets; and what is a station for the saints becomes a veil (hijab) for the prophets.
  • Hujwiri reports that no scholar of the Sunna or verifier of this path dissents from this, except a group of the anthropomorphists (Hashwiyya) of ...

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Updated 2026-07-20

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Literature

Persian Literature Prerequisite Course