ABSTRACT
In order to speak of the mystical tradition of Islam, it is first of all necessary to understand the meaning of mysticism in the Islamic context, especially considering the nebulous nature of the meaning of this term in English today. We can speak of Islamic mysticism only if we understand by this term its original meaning as that which deals with the Divine Mysteries. One must recall that silence or the closing of one’s lips is the root meaning of the Greek verb muo from which the word mysterion and mysticism derive. As such, one might relate it in the Islamic context to such terms as asrār (mysteries) or bāṭin (the inward or esoteric), remembering that the Sufis refer often to themselves as the people who are the guardians of the Divine Mysteries or asrār. In the Islamic context mysticism means the esoteric dimension of Islam identified for the most part with Sufism but also with Shi‘ite esoterism, both Twelve-Imām and Ismā‘īlī. 1
