Sayyid Yaḥyā Shirvānī’s Love for the Ahl al-Bayt and His Sufi Views

Abstract

There are notable differences between Sunni and Shi‘a perspectives concerning the identification and theological interpretation of the Ahl al-Bayt. The attitude of Sufis affiliated with the Sunni tradition represents a distinct and independent stance. Since many Sunni Sufis attribute profound spiritual status and reverence to ʿAlī (d. 40/661) and his descendants, similar in some aspects to Shi‘a thought, some scholars have argued that this approach may have been shaped under Shi‘a influence. Nevertheless, the conception of the Ahl al-Bayt that developed within the teachings of Yaḥyā Shirvānī (d. 1466), regarded as the second founder of the Khalwatiyyah order, one of the most influential Sufi orders among Sunnis, did not arise from Shi‘a sources. Instead, it originated from the Sunni Sufi tradition, which faithfully preserved the Prophet’s sunnah and spiritual heritage in its complete sense. Therefore, the Sufi perception of the Ahl al-Bayt neither fully aligns with the as a sect of Sunni Islam nor the Shi‘a interpretations but rather reflects a unique spiritual perspective grounded in its own metaphysical framework. This research, which provides a reinterpretation of the notion of the Prophet’s Sunnah, reveals through various historical records that the Sufis functioned as a spiritual mediator between the two sects, grounded in their love for the Ahl al-Bayt. Furthermore, in this study, the works of Sayyid Yaḥyā Shirvānī have been analyzed for the first time from this interpretive angle, examining both his views on the Ahl al-Bayt and his broader Sufi doctrines in depth.