The Representation of Death Anxiety in ʿAṭṭār Nīshābūrī’s Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ A Psychological and Mystical Analysis

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature Education, Faculty of Literature and Languages, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran.

2 PhD, Department of Persian Language and Literature Education, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Farhangian University, Alborz, Iran

10.22059/jrm.2025.405409.630698

Abstract

The question of death and the anxiety arising therefrom constitutes one of the most fundamental human concerns throughout history. Existential psychology regards death as the primary source of anxiety and holds that confronting it represents the most consequential human experience. In Islamic mysticism (taṣawwuf), death is conceived not as an end but as a bridge toward union (wiṣāl) with Ultimate Reality. ʿAṭṭār Nīshābūrī's Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ, as one of the most distinguished works of Persian mystical prose, contains narratives that reflect various manifestations of death anxiety and the strategies employed to confront it.
This study employs qualitative content analysis within the framework of existential psychology to examine death anxiety in the hagiographical accounts of ten renowned mystics presented in this work. The findings reveal three principal levels in the management of death anxiety within these narratives: (1) the level of negation, wherein conventional mechanisms of eschatological reward and punishment are rejected (as exemplified by Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya); (2) the transformative level, wherein death-awareness becomes the primary catalyst for spiritual and moral transformation (as seen in Fuḍayl ʿIyāḍ, Ibrāhīm Adham, and Dāwūd Ṭāʾī); and (3) the transcendental level, wherein death is interpreted as union and perfection of the path (as demonstrated by Ḥallāj and Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī).
This classification demonstrates that ʿAṭṭār, through his narration of the saints' lives, transforms death anxiety from a psychological threat into the driving force of mystical wayfaring (sulūk). Accordingly, Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ offers a rich paradigm for 'authentic living in the light of death,' possessing analytical value from both psychological and mystical perspectives.

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References

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Religions and Mysticism
Volume 58, Issue 2
Autumn & Winter 2025/2026
January 2026
Pages 515-534

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