While the refutation of Christianity constituted the overarching thread of Jadid al-Islam's intellectual production, another major theme that is present throughout his work is his anti-Sufi position. Not only does this constitute the topic of one of his minor pieces, the Risalih dar radd-i jamaʿat-i sufiyan, but it also surfaces in many sections of the Sayf al-muʾminin. The sole surviving manuscript of this risāla, kept at the Sipahsalar Library, is undated. However, explicit references to it in the Sayf al-muʾminin make it clear that its composition preceded that of his magnum opus and suggest that it was written in preparation for this work. Moreover, Rasul Jaʿfariyan has identified certain phrases in the risāla that are identical to some of the Hidayat al-zallin. This alone should justify taking a closer look at Jadid al-Islam's anti-Sufi passages and work. But there is a yet more important reason for examining this aspect of his intellectual output, namely that through it our author was able to position himself within the framework of other discussions, which for his scholarly coreligionists in Isfahan were more important than engaging in Muslim–Christian disputations for their own sake. It is not clear the extent to which his anti-Sufi risāla was read by subsequent scholars, let alone the relevant passages in the Sayf al-muʾminin. However, the thematic makeup of his work and the chronological context in which it was conceived suggest that his own views on the matter were informed by those of his more authoritative peers. What is also clear is that he tailored his work in such a way that it could appeal to an audience that could potentially discern in it contemporary debates on the legitimacy (or lack thereof ) of mystical thought.

Sufis, the Ulama and the State in Safavid Iran

First, a short overview of the reception of Sufism in the Safavid period is in order. Throughout the Safavid Period the relationship between the ulama, the state and its institutions, and what can loosely be grouped under the umbrella-term of ‘Sufism’ was marred by contradictions and changing attitudes. The early history of the dynasty was closely linked to organised Sufism. As is well known, before becoming a political dynasty, the Safavids started as a Sunni Sufi order (ṭarīqa) when its founder, Shaykh Safi al-Din Ardabili (d. 1334), inherited Zahid-i Gilani's (d. 1301) Zahidiyya order.