Religious Experience in the Thought of Abdul Karim Soroush

Abstract

One of the fundamental issues and pillars upon which this scientific research is based is the clarification that religious experience is a philosophical vision that expresses the human relationship with God Almighty through a subjective experience filled with emotions and feelings expressed by the individual toward the invisible or sacred absolute.  We will also attempt to shed light on the Iranian thinker Abdolkarim Soroush's view of the religious experience, which he relied on studying this experience through its connection to revelation from the prophets.

We can also clarify the most important objections directed at Abdolkarim Soroush regarding the subject of revelation and its connection to the religious experience. These objections contradict religious teachings according to Islamic law, which considers revelation to be the words revealed by God Almighty. The evidence for this is the numerous Quranic verses that prove this. In addition to the above, we can clarify the following through this study:

1. Clarify whether the religious experience is a personal, subjective experience that all people can experience.
2. Clarify whether revelation originates from the words of God Almighty revealed to the prophets, or whether it is a private experience that everyone can experience.
3. Remove the dust from the true image of the concept of revelation, given that revelation is revealed by God Almighty to the prophets.