Bu çalışma, Kübreviyye tarikatı şeyhlerinden Alâüddevle-i Simnânî’nin (ö. 736/1336), muhtelif konuları ele aldığı el-Vâridü’ş-şâridü’t-târid şübhete’l-mârid adlı Arapça risâlesinin tahkik ve incelemesinden meydana gelmektedir. On beş yaşlarında iken İlhanlı Hükümdarı Argun Han’ın hizmetine girerek yaklaşık on sene kadar onun yakınında bulunan müellif, daha sonra yaşadığı birtakım mânevî haller neticesinde içinde bulunduğu hayatı terkederek tasavvufa yönelmiştir. Bir müddet tasavvuf büyüklerinin eserlerini okuyarak kendi kendine riyâzetle meşgul olduktan sonra Kübrevî şeyhi Nûreddin Abdurrahman el-İsferâyînî’ye (ö. 717/1317) intisap ederek ondan irşat icâzeti alan Simnânî, bu eserini kırk yaşındayken kaleme almıştır. Eserde birbirinden bağımsız dört fasıl bulunmakta ve her fasılda birden fazla konu ele alınmaktadır. Ruh, ruh beden ilişkisi, kıyamet, latîfe-i enâiyye, kalbin önemi, mürşidin önemi, fırka-yi nâciyenin hangisi olduğu eserde yer alan konulardan bazılarıdır. Eserde müellifin hayatına dair başka eserlerinde bulunmayan ayrıntıların olması, Simnânî’nin İbn Sînâ (ö. 428/1037) özelinde filozoflara bakışını ortaya koyması, müellifin döneminde mevcut olan itikadî fırkaları ihtiva etmesi ve tasavvufun çeşitli alanlarına dair görüşlerini içermesi eseri önemli kılan hususlardandır.

This study consists of a critical edition and introduction to an Arabic epistle entitled al-Wārid al-shārid al-ṭārid shubhat al-mārid, written by a leading figure of the Kubrawiyya order in Mongol-governed Iran, ‘Alā’ al-Dawla al-Simnānī (d. 736/1336). Born in the village Bayābānak of the town Sūfīābād, in Simnān of modern Iran, his birth name was Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Aḥmad and he became known as ‘Alā’ al-Dawla al-Simnānī. His father and maternal and paternal uncles served prominent posts in the Ilkhanate court and he also served under the ruler of the Ilkhanate, Arghun Khan, when he was only about fifteen years old. He served within the court for approximately ten years and then, after some spiritual experiences, he left his lofty life and felt inclined toward sufism. First, he studied independently the works of the great masters of sufism and was then initiated by a Kubrawī shaykh in Baghdad, Nūr al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān Isfarāyīnī (d. 717/1317), from whom he would take ijāza (permission) for spiritual guidance.Simnānī contributed widely to sūfī literature with his written works, which numbered around ninety, and also with his spiritual lineage (silsila) through which the mainstream Kubrawiyya order traces back to today. He offered important insights, especially into phenomena such as latā’if (spiritiual organs of the soul), rijāl al-ghayb (men of the unseen) and narrations of spiritual  experiences, influencing eminent figures after him such as Muḥammad Pārsā (d. 822/1420) and Imām Rabbānī (d. 1034/1624). He was also known for his critique of Ibn al-‘Arabī, which constituted the first critique of Ibn al-‘Arabī’s doctrine of waḥdat al-wujūd in the history of sufism. One of his salient characteristics was his meticulousness regarding following the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. Another noteworthy quality of his was his aversion to takfīr (declaring someone unbeliever) and his efforts to help resolve conflict among different firqas (factions). Among Simnānī's greatest contribution to sūfī thought was his interpretation of the Qur’ān according to seven laṭā’if, which included identifying each laṭā’if and matching it to a prophet. The ultimate influence of his view of being was upon Imām Rabbānī, who developed the idea of waḥdat al-shuhūd against waḥdat al-wujūd. In his Maktūbāt (The Letters), Rabbānī says that his thought on existence is the same as Simnānī’s and quotes from Simnānī his crucial sentence: “There is a realm (‘ālam) of Malik al-Wadūd (Zāt) above the realm of beings”.Simnānī authored approximately ninety books in both Arabic and Persian. He wrote all of his books after his initiation into Isfarāyīnī. His first work, Sirr-i Samā, was written in 687 AH. The work that we are concerned with in this critical edition was written in 699 AH when Simnānī was around forty years old. There are five manuscripts of this work that we could locate, all of which were found in libraries in Istanbul. None of the copies are in the author’s handwriting, nor were they written during, or around, his lifetime. There is not any indication that the manuscripts were heard directly from the shaykh or edited (muqābala) and there is not an istinsākh (handwritten copy) lineage that traces them to the author. During this critical edition, manuscripts found in Hüdai Efendi (Hacı Selim Ağa Library), Pertev Paşa (Süleymaniye Library), Hekimoğlu (Süleymaniye Library) and Topkapı Palace Library collections are compared. Another copy, found after the completion of the critical edition in Aga Efendi Tanacan collection (Süleymaniye Library), is left out of the study since there is not any distinctive quality to it compared to the first four manuscripts.In the critical edition, according to the ISAM critical edition guidelines, we implemented “elective method.” Accordingly, each of the manuscripts are considered as though they were the principal copy; if there happens to be any differences among them, the one that is thought to be most accurate is selected and the others are indicated in footnotes. Therefore, it is not preferred to choose a principal manuscript. The text is not interrupted or edited significantly during the critical edition except for some necessary corrections; some titles are included in brackets for ease of reading. The epistle that we made its critical edition consists of four independent chapters and each addresses more than one subject. In the first chapter there is criticism directed towards philosophers, specifically Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna). In the meantime, incapability of the intellect (‘aql) in comprehension of the matters which can be known by experience and inspiration (ilhām) is mentioned. Here the quotations from great sūfī masters who have seen the Prophet Muhammad in their vākı‘as (dreamlike spiritual experiences) expresses their belief that Ibn Sīnā went astray. The main theme of the second chapter is the spirit (rūḥ) and the relationship between spirit and body. The author comments on different opinions on this issue and tries to reconcile them. Death and the doomsday (qiyāma) are other topics of this chapter. In the chapter that follows, the author states a laṭīfa which he calls al-laṭīfa al-anā’iyya, and reveals some manifestations (tajallī) that the servant of God attains. In the longest chapter of the epistle, the fourth and final chapter, Simnānī covers significant details about his life. Meanwhile, he explains how he found the salvaged faction (al-firqa al-nājiya) by referencing the distinct theological factions of his era, and reflects upon his commitment to “ahl al-sunna” explicitly. The importance of masters, the classes (ṭabaqa) among sūfīs and treatments for bad character are other subjects of this chapter.