تاملی در پرسش متداولِ «خدای-تعالی-با تو چه کرد؟» در متون منثور عرفانی (شخصیت‌ها، دلایل و جزئیات رحمت و عذاب)

بیان مسئله: یکی از پربسامدترین بُن‏مایه‏های متون عرفانی، خواب و رویا‏ست که نوعی کرامت به شمار می‏رفته و به‏سبب اخبار از عالم غیب، ابزاری برای کسب شناخت و آگاهی بوده ‏است. در میان این خواب‏ها، به‏دلیل نگرانی و ترس صوفیه از عالم پس از مرگ و عاقبتِ کار خود، پرسشِ «خدای تعالی با تو چه کرد؟» بسیار متداول ‏است؛ پرسشگر از راوی می‏خواهد که او را از سرنوشت خود و حوادث عالم برزخ آگاه ‏کند. اگر خداوندْ راوی را آمرزیده‏ است، دلیل آمرزش چه بوده و اگر احیاناً عتاب یا عذاب کرده، به تاوان کدام غفلت و اشتباه او بوده ‏است.روش: نگارنده در این مقاله برای پاسخ به پرسش یادشده، هجده متن منثور عرفانی را بررسی کرده است.یافته‌ها و نتایج: با تحلیل حکایات مرتبط، این نتیجه حاصل شد که در بیشتر اوقات، راوی از آمرزش خداوند و لطف او خبر می‏دهد و اینکه کار، آسان‏تر از آن ‏است که خلق می‏پندارند‏؛ به‏گونه‏ای‏ که در مقابل پنجاه‏ و ‏نه حکایت رحمت خداوند، تنها با نُه حکایت عذاب و عتاب او مواجهیم. تامّل در حکایات نشان ‏می‏دهد که لطف و «رحمتِ بی‏علّت» خداوند و به عبارت دقیق‏تر «فضل و کَرَم» او افزون‏بر عارفان و پارسایان، مردمان عادی و گناهکاران و قاتلان را نیز در بر می‏گیرد و از این نظر، اصل نقدش، داد و لطف و بخشش ‏است؛ همچنین بهشت و نعمت‏های بهشتی، کمترین پاداش خداوند به رستگاران ‏است؛ در‏حالی‏که رویت خداوند و همنشینی با او، رضایت و خشنودی حق از بنده، استقبال پیامبر (ص) از عارف و همنشینی با پیامبران و صالحان، پاداش‏های ویژه‏تری به شمار می‏روند.

A Contemplation on the Frequent Question of“What Did the God Almighty Do to You?” in Mystical Prose (Characters, Reasons, and Details of Mercy and Torment)

The dream is one of the most frequent motifs in mystical proses, which was considered a kind of honor. It is used as a medium to gain knowledge and understanding because it brought information from the unseen world (the afterlife). In these dreams, the question of “What did the God Almighty do to you?” is very frequent because of the fear Sufis had of the afterlife and the consequences of their actions. The inquirer asks the teller to enlighten him about the events of the purgatory. If God has absolved him of his sins, what was the reason for that? And if he has been tormented or punished for his sins, what negligence or mistake was he punished for? To answer the abovementioned questions, eighteen mystical proses were analyzed. The analysis of the obtained results showed that, in most cases, the teller talks about the favor and mercy of God and that the affairs of the afterlife are easier than what people think, so much that for fiftynine cases of God’s mercy, only nine cases of punishment were seen during the analysis. Contemplation on the proses shows that first, God’s favor and “causeless mercy” or, to be more precise, His “generosity and beneficence” are not only toward mystics and righteous people but also toward normal people, sinners, and murderers; hence God’s true nature is of justice and mercy. And second, that heaven and its blessings are the least of rewards given to the blessed by God; while the more exclusive rewards are seeing God and His companionship, God’s consent and satisfaction in His servants, the prophet greeting the mystic, and being the companions of prophets and righteous people. Keywords: Dream, the Inquirer and the Teller, God’s Behavior, Mercy and Forgiveness, Torment and Rebuke.  IntroductionThe afterlife and the good or bad ending for people in that world is one of the most critical concerns of a believer in the hereafter and reckoning. This concern, or in other words, the ‘pleasant panic’ has a double function and importance among the Sufis; because to them, knowing that the end of all that worship, obedience, and austerity is a reward or punishment is considered vital. Will the mystic face the God who deals with him with his ‘justice’ and does not ignore the slightest neglect and carelessness and takes into account every bit of a person’s good and bad deeds? Or will he find a deity who forgives mistakes and sins on a large scale with his grace and mercy and it creates the idea in the mind of the mystic that the work was much easier than he thought? This concern and worry, or in other words, the excitement and passion that arises from fascination, hope, or fear, is the reason that in most of the Sufi texts, we face the common question: What did God do to you? and in fact, a person who has recently passed away talks about his destiny in a dream and informs his friends and disciples about the facts and events of the world after death and purgatory. If God forgave him, what would be the reason or reasons for forgiveness, and if perhaps he was punished by God, what would be the reasons and details of the punishment and the blame? Talking about God’s forgiveness, mercy, and ease led to a more hopeful and encouraging life and increased their enthusiasm for death and release from the prison of the body. On the other hand, God’s strictness and narrowmindedness resulted in more fear and worries for the mystic and strengthened the idea of a whip in hand God.The present research was performed to answer the following three key questions:What were the reasons for asking the frequent question: What did God do to you? in mystical texts?What were the reasons for God’s forgiveness or perhaps God’s punishment based on the narrator of the dream?Which details and side information of mercy and punishment have the narrators mentioned?  Review of the LiteratureAlthough several articles and works have been written so far about the importance of dreams in Sufi texts and moralmystical teachings contained in these dreams, as well as the effect of such dreams on disciples and students, none of them have specifically investigated the subject and questions of the present research. Rezaei and Eskandari in the article ‘Dreams of Mystics in Risala Qushayriyya: An Analysis’ (2014), while paying attention to the lexical and idiomatic meanings of the dream and the views of Sufis and contemporary thinkers about it, have only analyzed and categorized the dreams narrated in the Risala Qushayriyya. Also, in the article ‘The Origin of the Dreams of Saints of God in TazkiratalAuliyā’ (2019), Najafi and Alirezaee first analyzed the dreams narrated in Tazkirat alAuliyā and the themes raised in them quantitatively. Then, they considered the relationship of the dreams with those people’s facts of life. They concluded that the mystics intended to express their dreams because they were considered part of the Prophecy and messages from the Divine world. The difference between the present study and the two mentioned studies is that each one has only examined and analyzed the dreams of one of the mystical prose books, while this study has analyzed eighteen mystical prose works and separated them thematically. Second, contrary to the present study, the approach of the two mentioned articles was to examine all dreams with any subject and concept, not just the accuracy of the statement and question. Obviously, in the two articles mentioned before, there are a few discussions about the dream with the topic What did God do to you?. However, specific categories and analyses of this study do not exist in the two articles.  MethodologyThis descriptiveanalytical study aims to point out the reasons and details of God’s forgiveness or punishment from the point of view of the character in question. This can be done by following up the main mystical prose texts, from Khargushi’s Tahdhib alasrar to Jami’s Nafahat alUns (Lives of the Saints) (Eighteen Texts),  to examine, separate, and analyze the answers given by personalities, mystics, elders, and other deceased people to the common question: What did God  Almighty do to you?. The data collection method is a library, and the tool is taking notes.  ResultsA good or a bad ending and how God treats a servant after death is always one of the concerns of people who believe in the resurrection and the afterlife, especially mystics and pious people. Will God deal with a person with His ‘justice’ and count every bit of good and bad deeds, or will He grant His special mercy to the servant with his ‘grace’, and ignore neglect and carelessness? This concern and somewhat worries and fear in the common question: What did God Almighty do to you? has been mentioned in mystical texts and the narrator or a person who has just passed away spoke about God’s behavior after death, and in most cases, he mentioned about God’s forgiveness and mercy.