Abstract

Non-Being, in parallel with being, has always been among the major thoughts of philosophers as well as mystics. ‘Attār, proficient enough in the fundamentals of Islamic philosophy and mysticism, has made clear his viewpoint about Non-Being with subtle allusions and elegant purports. The present study aims to, first investigate the attitudes of eminent figures regarding the relationship between Non-Being and being, the semantic field of Non-Being, the unconditional birthplace of being, and the semantic perspective of death and mortality. Then, with reference to some of ‘Attār’s poems, it will represent his worldview regarding this matter. From the viewpoint of ‘Attār, “Non-Being is only a nominal Non-Being”, and as a matter of fact, it is one of the stages of the emergence of the light of being. As he states in a dialectic way, there is nothing beyond the Essence of God, and the two worlds are the offsprings of Non-Being, and it is through the eye of love that Non-Being and being become the same.
The Present study, which has been carried out in a documentary (library)method, therefore tries to investigate this prominent figure’s position on Non-Being because we can analyze many of the Islamic mysticism points and facts in the light of exactly understanding ‘Attār’s mystic share of Non-Being.