Abstract
Husayn Karbala'i's Rawdat al-ginan wa-gannat al-ganan, a handbook of mausolea in Tabriz, contains a letter written by ‘Ala’ al-dawla Simnani (d. 736/1336), an Iranian Sufi in Ilkhanid period. I present here Japanese translation of the letter and commentary on it.
The letter, which is addressed to a mawlana of Tabriz, deals with ahl al-bayt. It seems to have been written in later Ilkhanid period and undoubtedly reflects the social confusion brought about by Ilkhan Ölgäitü's conversion to Shi'ism. Other sources also suggest Simnani's great interest in the problem. In the letter Simnani recommends veneration of ahl al-bayt independently of Shi'ism. But in those days his neutral position wasn't accepted and he was compelled to hide his favor of ahl al-bayt. This letter shows us an example of the public recognition of veneration of ahl al-bayt and has value as a source for study of the relationship between veneration of ahl al-bayt and Shi'ism.
