A Reading of the Implications and Consequences of the Idea of Dunaduni (Transmigration of the Soul) for Divine Justice in Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq)

Lotfi, Javad; Yasemifard, Ali; Bayati, Mehdi

A Reading of the Implications and Consequences of the Idea of Dunaduni (Transmigration of the Soul) for Divine Justice in Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

javad lotfi ¹

Ali Yasemifard ²

Mehdi Bayati ³

¹ Assistant professor, Department of History of Islam, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

² PhD student, Shiite sects, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

³ PhD student, Islamic mysticism and Sufism, University of Religions and Denominations, Qom, Iran

Abstract

Dunaduni, or the belief in reincarnation, is the second principle of belief within Yarsanism and remains a highly contentious doctrine. Adherents of this creed maintain that dunaduni entails a series of successive lives in one thousand and one bodies, serving to explain the hardships encountered in life. According to their perspective, embracing dunaduni is integral to affirming divine justice, representing the sole pathway to its affirmation. Without embracing dunaduni, they belive, God cannot be deemed just. During the developments of this creed, there have been disagreements among Yarsanists over the construal of dunaduni. Moreover, the doctrine was criticized by non-Yarsanists as well, as many researchers believe this is a belief in the transmigration of the soul. The question in this research is what implications and consequences this belief has for the belief in divine justice within Yarsanism. By collecting library data and deploying the descriptive and analytical method, this research seeks to explain the nature of dunaduni in line with the prevalent interpretation of the doctrine among Yarsanists as well as its implications for divine justice.

Keywords

Yarsan

Ahl-e Haqq

Dunaduni

divine justice

transmigration of the soul

Subjects