Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Theology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2
Department of Comparative Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22108/coth.2026.148860.2116
Abstract
This study comparatively examines the concept of awe (haybat) as one of the most fundamental dimensions of religious experience in the thought of Rudolf Otto (1869–1937), German theologian and phenomenologist of religion, and Rūzbihān Baqlī Shīrāzī (522–606 AH / 1128–1209 CE), Persian mystic and thinker. Employing an analytical-comparative approach based on the analysis of primary theological and mystical texts, this research investigates the conceptual structure of awe in two distinct intellectual traditions. The findings reveal that in both systems of thought, awe possesses a dual structure of attraction and repulsion; however, its epistemological status, mystical function, and mode of realization differ between the two traditions. For Otto, awe constitutes one dimension of the unified experience of the “numinous,” manifested in the paradoxical combination of mysterium tremendum et fascinans, simultaneously evoking fear and fascination in a single moment. In contrast, for Rūzbihān, awe exists within a dynamic dialectic with expansion (inbisāṭ), and the seeker, oscillating between these two poles, arrives at the experience of wonder (ḥayrat) and ultimately at knowledge. This study demonstrates that wonder in both intellectual systems is not merely a psychological state but rather an epistemological structure in the experience of the sacred, arising from the experience of awe. From this perspective, the comparison of Otto’s and Rūzbihān’s thought reveals that the experience of awe, despite traditional and conceptual differences, shares a common structure in expressing humanity’s encounter with the transcendent.
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