LIVE INTERACTIVE COURSES:
Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (12 Weeks)
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
- Duration: 3 months
- Format: Live weekly seminars + guided readings + discussion + Whatsapp group
- Language: English
- Course start: Just started (first meeting recorded and available)
- Early registration: $50 OFF (included)
In this live, interactive course (live Google Meet seminars), you will explore one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of mystical thought, Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (Seals of Wisdom). In teaching this book, I draw upon the most authoritative classical commentaries—Qūnawī, Qayṣarī, Jāmī, and Kāshānī—alongside key contemporary scholarship, to provide a rigorous, structured, and accessible interpretation of this profound text. Whether you’re a student of sufism, Islamic philosophy, or metaphysics, or simply curious about Ibn ʿArabī’s complex thought, this course will deepen your understanding of one of the most influential works in the Islamic intellectual tradition. Join me, and let us undertake this journey through the wisdom of the Fuṣūṣ together.
For those who prefer monthly payments, WE HAVE A MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP. Please check our memberships.
Persian Poetry: Phenomenological and Hermeneutic Analysis
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
- Duration: 8 Weeks (Online)
- Format: Live weekly seminars + guided readings + discussion + recordings + Telegram group
- Language: English (with Persian texts and translations provided)
Course Description. This eight-week online course offers an in-depth exploration of Persian poetry through the combined lenses of phenomenology and hermeneutics—two powerful philosophical approaches that investigate how texts are experienced, how they disclose worlds and transform understanding. Rather than treating poetry as a collection of historical artifacts, this course approaches Persian poetry as events of meaning, structures of experience, and invitations to interpretation. Drawing from thinkers such as Gadamer, Heidegger, Ricoeur, Ingarden, Iser, Levinas, Marion, and Merleau-Ponty, and engaging poets such as Rūmī, Ḥāfiẓ, ʿAṭṭār, Fayḍ Kāshānī, and others, we will learn how to read Persian poetry not only analytically but experientially—as something that happens to us. Throughout the course, we examine how poetic language opens worlds, shapes ethical imagination, and engages the reader in a transformative interplay between text and self. Each week, pairs key philosophical readings with carefully selected Persian poems to practice phenomenological and hermeneutic interpretation in real-time.
8-Week Course Outline
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Week 1: What Does It Mean to “Experience” a Text? Reading as an event, not a decoding exercise.
Play and presence; Rūmī’s ghazals as lived poetic moments. - Week 2: The Literary Work as an Incomplete Object: Reader & Text. How the reader “completes” the poem; layers of the work; phenomenology of reading; ʿAṭṭār’s visionary journey in Conference of the Birds.
- Week 3: World-Disclosure and the Imaginal. World-opening; Rūmī’s Masnavī as a structure of truth; The imaginal realm as poetic ontology.
- Week 4: Voice, Address, and Dhikr: Repetition as Form. How apostrophe, vocatives, and refrain create a participatory mode of reading; Rūmī and Fayḍ Kāshānī as poets of invocation and remembrance.
- Week 5: Longing, Love, and Self-Transcendence. Phenomenology of eros and desire; comparing mystical love across Rūmī, Ḥāfiẓ, and Fayḍ Kāshānī.
- Week 6: Symbol, Metaphor, and Unsaying. Poetic symbol and metaphor as disclosure and concealment; Ḥāfiẓ’s symbolic lexicon as hermeneutic field.
- Week 7: Attunement and Mood: How Poetry Shapes Our Being-in-the-World. How do poems attune us to a world—how do they shape our mood, our sense of presence, and our way of being-with-others?
- Week 8: Hermeneutic Circle, Ethical Imagination, and Transformation. Can poetry change how we see the world? The idea of literature as training in attention; concluding readings from Rūmī, Ḥāfiẓ, or Fayḍ Kāshānī.
Course Format
- 8 weekly live seminars
- Guided reading packets (Persian + English translations)
- Access to recordings after each session
- Telegram group for questions and peer learning
Who Is This Course For? Ideal for:
- Students and scholars of philosophy, literature, Persian studies, or religious studies
- Readers of Persian poetry seeking deeper interpretive methods
- Anyone interested in phenomenology, hermeneutics, or the philosophy of art
- Those who want to experience poetry as a transformative practice
No technical background is required—translations and conceptual introductions are provided.
All texts are provided as PDFs.
Philosophical Mysticism & Mystical Philosophy: Western & Islamic Perspectives
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
- 8-Week: Online
- Format: Live online sessions (recordings available after each session) + guided readings + Exclusive WhatsApp Group
- Level: Open to all motivated learners; no prior background required
- Start: Early January 2026
- Early Registration: 50% OFF for December registrations
Course Description. This program provides a clear, structured, and intellectually rich exploration of the relationship between philosophy and mysticism across Western and Islamic traditions. Drawing on prominent works from William James, William Alston, Richard H. Jones, Ibn ʿArabī, Plotinus, Suhrawardī, Henry Corbin, Mullā Ṣadrā, and Rūmī, this course provides both a philosophical analysis of mysticism and a philosophical study rooted in mystical insight:
Part I: Philosophical Mysticism: The philosophical study of mysticism as a phenomenon: analyzing its epistemic claims, linguistic strategies, metaphysical interpretations, and ethical implications.
- How have philosophers understood mystical experience?
- Can mystical states yield knowledge?
- Is mystical language necessarily symbolic or metaphorical?
- What is the ethical significance of mystical life?
Part II: Mystical Philosophy: Philosophy written from within a mystical horizon: systematic ontologies, epistemologies, and ethical visions grounded in mystical realization.
- How do mystical realizations give rise to full philosophical systems?
- How do concepts like the oneness of being, emanation, illumination, or modulation of existence express lived mystical vision?
- How do thinkers such as Ibn ʿArabī, Suhrawardī, Mullā Ṣadrā, and Rūmī articulate metaphysics, psychology, and ethics from within a mystical horizon?
8-Week Course Outline
- Week 1: What Is Mysticism? Philosophical Definitions & Types of Experience.
- Week 2: The Epistemology of Mystical Experience. Can mystical experience justify belief? Is it analogous to perception? We explore debates surrounding epistemic justification and philosophical critique.
- Week 3: Mystical Language, Symbolism, and Ineffability Can one speak about the ineffable? How do mystics use paradox, metaphor, and symbolic discourse to express non-ordinary experience?
- Week 4: Mysticism and Moral Transformation. How does mystical experience shape character, ethics, and spiritual psychology? We explore the moral dimension of mystical life and the transformation of the self.
- Week 5: Mystical Philosophy: Ibn ʿArabī and the Metaphysics of Oneness. We enter the second movement of the course, exploring philosophical systems grounded in mystical insight. Topics include waḥdat al-wujūd, unity, divine presence, and metaphysical imagination.
- Week 6: Plotinus and Neoplatonic Emanation. We examine the philosophical framework of emanation, the One, Intellect, and Soul—key concepts that have shaped both Western and Islamic mystical philosophy.
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Week 7: Illuminationism & the Mundus Imaginalis. Suhrawardī’s philosophy of light, the imaginal realm, and Henry Corbin’s interpretation of imaginal perception.
We explore the metaphysics, psychology, and ontology of the imaginal. - Week 8: Sadrian Ontology & Ecstatic Love Mysticism. Mullā Ṣadrā’s modulation of being and Rūmī’s ecstatic metaphysics of love. We conclude by asking how mystical philosophy integrates ontology, ethics, imagination, and spiritual psychology into one living vision.
Course Format
- Weekly live meetings
- Guided readings
- Access to recorded sessions
- WhatsApp group for questions and updates
Who Should Enroll?
- Students and scholars of philosophy, mysticism, or religious studies
- Those interested in consciousness, metaphysics, and the philosophy of spiritual experience
- Anyone seeking a structured introduction to the philosophical analysis of mysticism
No prior academic background is required.
All texts will be provided as PDFs.
Plotinus’ Enneads
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
- 8-Week Online Intensive
- Format: Live online sessions + guided readings + Exclusive WhatsApp
- Level: Open to all motivated learners; no prior background required
- Start: Early January 2026
- Early Registration: 50% OFF for December registrations
Course Overview. This eight-week program offers a clear, structured, and intellectually rich journey into Plotinus’ Enneads—the foundational text of ancient Neoplatonism and one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy, mysticism, and late antique thought. This online course brings together close reading, conceptual analysis, and guided discussion to illuminate Plotinus’ profound vision of reality, the self, beauty, and the philosophical life. Across eight modules, participants will explore Plotinus’ understanding of the One, Intellect, Soul, knowledge, self-awareness, ethical transformation, and the ascent toward the Good in the context of the prominent secondary sources.
Course Structure
- Week 1. Plotinus in Context: Historical background, the Neoplatonic tradition, and Hadot’s vision of philosophy as spiritual exercise.
- Week 2. The One and the Structure of Reality: The three hypostases, emanation, metaphysical hierarchy, and the nature of the First Principle.
- Week 3. Intellect and the Realm of Being: Intellect as living thought, the Forms, and Plotinus’ account of intelligible reality.
- Week 4. The Soul: Unity and multiplicity of souls, embodiment, descent, and spiritual orientation.
- Week 5. Knowledge, Consciousness: Self-knowledge, intellectual vision, the conscious centre, and the metaphysics of awareness.
- Week 6. Self, Presence, Ascent, and Mysticism: Different levels of the self, presence, the contemplative path, and the contemplative path.
- Week 7. Beauty, Virtue, and Ethical Transformation: Aesthetics of beauty, the role of virtues, happiness, and the purification of the soul.
- Week 8. Philosophy as a Way of Life: Dialectic, interior sight, the ascent to the Good, and Plotinus’ vision of the sage.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is designed for:
- Students and researchers of philosophy, classics, theology, and mysticism
- Anyone interested in Neoplatonism, metaphysics, or the history of ideas
- Readers of Augustine, Ibn ʿArabī, Mulla Ṣadrā, Rūmī, or other traditions influenced by Plotinus
- Individuals seeking a structured philosophical program that integrates intellectual rigor with spiritual depth
No formal academic background is required—only commitment, curiosity, and willingness to read closely.
What You Will Receive
- 8 live seminars with lecture + discussion
- Guided reading selections from primary and secondary texts
- All sources provided as PDF
- Access to recorded sessions
This course aims not only to introduce the Enneads but to cultivate the kind of reflective, interior attention that Plotinus saw as essential to the philosophical life. Participants will gain both a scholarly understanding of his system and an experiential appreciation of how Neoplatonic thought continues to shape metaphysics, mysticism, ethics, and the philosophy of selfhood.
Philosophy & Literature
Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
Course type: Live Video Meeting (Google Meet)
Language: English
Duration: 8 weeks
Duration: November-December 2025; however, recorded meetings are immediately accessible upon registration.
Course Description. This 8-week course is titled “Philosophy and Literature” to emphasize both dimensions of inquiry: the “philosophy of literature,” where philosophy examines literature’s nature, truth, and value; and the dialogue between philosophy and literature, where literary works themselves generate philosophical insight. By combining these approaches, the course investigates how philosophers have theorized about literature and how literature—whether in the form of narrative, allegory, or poetry—functions as a medium of philosophical exploration.
The course engages materials from Islamic and Western traditions. From Plato, Aristotle, and Nietzsche to Rūmī, ʿAṭṭār, Suhrawardī, and Mullā Ṣadrā, students will encounter texts that show literature’s dual role: as an object of philosophical reflection and as a vehicle for philosophical thought. Special attention is given to Persian mystical and poetic traditions, where philosophy and literature intertwine most intimately, articulating experiences and truths often inaccessible to purely discursive reasoning. Students should therefore expect to:
- Analyze key philosophical questions about literature, including its aesthetic value, its relation to truth and knowledge, and the role of language, metaphor, and narrative.
- Explore how literary texts—from epics and allegories to philosophical poetry—convey moral, existential, and mystical insights.
- Compare Western and Islamic perspectives, gaining a cross-cultural understanding of how philosophy and literature enrich one another.
- Develop critical and interpretive skills by engaging directly with both philosophical treatises and literary works.
Ultimately, this course equips students to view literature not merely as art but as a mode of philosophizing—a medium that challenges reason, deepens ethical imagination, and discloses aspects of the human condition and the ineffable.
Course material will be provided before the course begins.
Mystical Philosophy in Persian Literature
Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
Course type: Live Video Meeting (Google Meet)
Language: English
Duration: 8 weeks
Duration: November-December 2025; however, recorded meetings are immediately accessible upon registration.
Course Description. This course explores mystical philosophy expressed in Persian poetry and prose, focusing on works that use literary form to articulate metaphysical, ethical, and transformative insights. Unlike “philosophical mysticism” (which analyzes mystical experience from outside), “mystical philosophy” proceeds from within, using poetry, allegory, and narrative to convey truths aimed at “transformation” rather than just “information.”
We will examine major Persian poets and thinkers such as Rūmī, Shams Tabrīzī, Shabistarī, Fayḍ Kāshānī, and ʿAṭṭār, alongside modern and contemporary scholarship. Emphasis will be on reading texts philosophically: analyzing how metaphor, paradox, and narrative express conceptions of the self, reality, love, and the path of transformation.
Learning Outcomes. By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Distinguish mystical philosophy from philosophical mysticism in the Persian literary context.
- Interpret Persian mystical poems and prose texts philosophically.
- Analyze the role of poetic form and devices in conveying philosophy.
- Compare different Persian authors’ mystical-philosophical approaches.
- Engage with secondary scholarship.
Course material will be provided before the course begins.
MONTHLY MEMBERSHIPS:
Persian Poetry Course
$69.00 per month
- Weekly video meetings
- Exclusive Telegram Group
- Access to recorded sessions
- Exclusive reading recommendation
- Exclusive posts
- Study guides
Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ (Online, Level 1)
$111.00 per month
Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ Video Series (Ch5+)
$28.00 per month
- 2 videos per month
- Exclusive posts
- Study guides
Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ (Hybrid, Chapter 5+)
$111.00 per month
- 2 videos per month
- 2 live-interactive meetings (Google Meet) per month
- Study guides
- Exclusive posts
- WhatsApp Group
Personal Mentorship
$275.50 per month
- Weekly 1-on-1 video sessions (60 mins each)
- Tailored study plan and reading guide based on your interest (academic or personal)
- Message support for questions between sessions
- Feedback for those working on academic papers
- Study guides
Gift membership
Your gift will be given away live at twitch.tv/rasoulrahbarighazani!
SEASONAL VIDEO COURSES (PRE-RECORDED):
Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam Course – Chapter 3
· Video Course: Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam – Chapter 3-4
· Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
· Course Package: 4 Episodes
Hello and welcome! I am delighted that you have joined this course and that together we will embark on an exploration of one of the most profound mystical works in history—Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (The Seals of Wisdom) by Ibn ʿArabī.
In this series, I explore the Fuṣūṣ in depth, carefully analyzing its themes and concepts across multiple sessions. Each video provides a detailed interpretation based on the most authoritative commentaries alongside my own analysis. The aim is to make Ibn ʿArabī’s complex and layered insights accessible in English while preserving their intellectual and spiritual depth.
Whether you are a sufism, philosophy, or metaphysics scholar/student, or simply curious about Ibn ʿArabī’s thought, this course offers structured guidance and an opportunity to engage with a text that has inspired centuries of scholarship and devotion.
Thank you for joining me on this journey into Ibn ʿArabī’s masterpiece. I hope these sessions deepen your understanding and inspire reflection on the enduring wisdom of the Fuṣūṣ.
Warm regards,
Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
Shams Tabrizi's Discourses (Maqālāt) - Season 1
COURSE DESCRIPTION
- Video Course (pre-recorded): Shams Tabrizi's Discourses (Maqālāt)
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
Hello and welcome!
I am delighted that you have joined this course and that together, we will embark on a deep and authentic journey into Shams Tabrizi's Discourses (Maqālāt), the enigmatic teacher of Rumi.
In this series, each episode focuses on one original Farsi discourse, which I carefully read, translate, and analyze in English. Drawing on the best available commentaries as well as modern insights, my goal is to present Shams’ words with accuracy and clarity—free from the simplifications or distortions often found in popular retellings.
Season One is structured as a complete journey of TEN video episodes (videos are hosted on YouTube—exclusively):
· Introduction (link) and Episode 1 (link) are free to all (already published on YouTube).
· Episodes 2–9 are EXCLUSIVE to course participants (links will be immediately accessible upon registration).
Throughout this season, we will explore the meaning of Shams’ words and the larger picture of his ideas, personality, and transformative relationship with Rumi.
Whether encountering Shams for the first time or returning to his voice with deeper questions, this course offers an accessible explanation and rigorous engagement with the original text.
Thank you for joining me on this journey into Shams’s living words. I hope these videos will inspire, challenge, and illuminate your search for wisdom.
Warm regards,
Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
Shams Tabrizi's Discourses (Maqālāt) - Season 2
COURSE DESCRIPTION
- Video Course (pre-recorded): Shams Tabrizi's Discourses (Maqālāt) - Season 2
- Instructor: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
- Episodes: 10–17 (seven exclusive, one free for public)
Hello and welcome!
I am delighted that you have joined this course and that together, we will embark on a deep and authentic journey into Shams Tabrizi's Discourses (Maqālāt), the enigmatic teacher of Rumi.
In this series, each episode focuses on one original Farsi discourse, which I carefully read, translate, and analyze in English. Drawing on the best available commentaries as well as modern insights, my goal is to present Shams’ words with accuracy and clarity—free from the simplifications or distortions often found in popular retellings.
Season Two is structured as a complete journey of EIGHT videos: Episodes 10–17 (seven exclusive, one free for public. These episodes are hosted on YouTube. The links will be immediately accessible upon registration).
Throughout this season, we will explore the meaning of Shams’ words and the larger picture of his ideas, personality, and transformative relationship with Rumi.
Whether encountering Shams for the first time or returning to his voice with deeper questions, this course offers an accessible explanation and rigorous engagement with the original text.
Join me on this journey into Shams’s living words. I hope these videos will inspire, challenge, and illuminate your search for wisdom.
Warm regards,
Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani