The Threshold of the Sacred: A Phenomenology of Pilgrimage in Iranian Islam between Tašbīh and Tanzīh

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research Article

Author

Postdoctoral, College of Fellows, Tübingen University, Germany

10.30513/rhj.2026.8083.1022

Abstract

This article offers a phenomenological analysis of pilgrimage (ziyārah) in Iranian Islam, arguing that its defining feature is a threshold character that sustains the dynamic theological tension between divine immanence (tašbīh) and transcendence (tanzīh). Moving beyond the singular axis mundi of Mecca, the study examines the proliferation of sacred shrines in Iran as multiple sacred centers. It first establishes the theological and mystical foundations of sacred space by exploring debates on God’s attributes and key concepts in the thought of Ibn ‘Arabī (the barzakh) and Mullā Ṣadrā (gradational unity of existence). It then employs the frameworks of Mircea Eliade (mythic time) and Henry Corbin (the imaginal world, malakūt, and subtle time) to analyze the pilgrim’s spatiotemporal experience. The article identifies a central paradox: the multiplication of sacred sites, while fulfilling a desire for proximity to the divine, risks dissolving the sacred-profane distinction essential to hierophany. It resolves this paradox by introducing the concept of the threshold. This is demonstrated both in the liminal architecture of Iranian shrines (e.g., the vestibule or ḥashtī) and in the theological function of these sites as mediators (tawassul) that facilitate nearness to God while rigorously preserving His transcendence. Ultimately, pilgrimage is presented not as a final arrival but as a liminal practice of perpetual approach, embodying the enduring interplay of presence and absence.

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References

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Available Online from 19 January 2026

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