Iranian Persian Language and Literature Promotion Society Research on Mystical Literature HTTPS://JP 14 2 2020 09 22 Research in the historical course of the famous phrase "The ways to God are as many as the number of human beings" in Mysticism and authenticity of the hadith Research in the historical course of the famous phrase "The ways to God are as many as the number of human beings" in Mysticism and authenticity of the hadith 211 226 25687 10.22108/jpll.2021.126028.1549 FA Elham Rastad Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Higher Education Center of Eghlid, ‎Eghlid, Iran Alimohammad Mahmoudi Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and‏ ‏Literature, Salman Farsi University, Kazerun, iran Journal Article 2020 11 15 The path of guidance and how to reach God has been one of the most controversial issues in religion. Among these is the famous phrase ‘the ways to God are as many as the number of human beings’ leading to the increased  scope of controversy as it reinforces the flaws of religious pluralism and pluralism. Hence, it has been the subject of much discussion. Some interpreted the word ‘ways’ with the assumption that it is a prophetic hadith and others with the assumption that it is quoted from great mystics. What has been studied in this research is the study of the above phrase from a historical and narrative perspective. The questions posed in this study are: 1) Since when has this phrase entered mystical and interpretive texts?; 2) Is it really a prophetic hadith? In addition, the meaning of ‘ways’ has been studied from the lexical and idiomatic dimensions based on the interpretations of mystics. The findings of the present descriptive-analytical study showed that the same phrase did not appear in Islamic texts before the seventh and eighth centuries AH although traces of similar sentences can be seen in the ancient books of Sufism. It is also wrong to consider it as a prophetic hadith because it has not been mentioned in authentic books. The meanings and interpretations of scholars and mystics of the word ‘ways’ can be placed under the following titles: diversity of religions, proofs of God's existence, ways of knowledge, mystical authorities, different ways of conduct, types of faith, and divine names. The path of guidance and how to reach God has been one of the most controversial issues in religion. Among these is the famous phrase ‘the ways to God are as many as the number of human beings’ leading to the increased  scope of controversy as it reinforces the flaws of religious pluralism and pluralism. Hence, it has been the subject of much discussion. Some interpreted the word ‘ways’ with the assumption that it is a prophetic hadith and others with the assumption that it is quoted from great mystics. What has been studied in this research is the study of the above phrase from a historical and narrative perspective. The questions posed in this study are: 1) Since when has this phrase entered mystical and interpretive texts?; 2) Is it really a prophetic hadith? In addition, the meaning of ‘ways’ has been studied from the lexical and idiomatic dimensions based on the interpretations of mystics. The findings of the present descriptive-analytical study showed that the same phrase did not appear in Islamic texts before the seventh and eighth centuries AH although traces of similar sentences can be seen in the ancient books of Sufism. It is also wrong to consider it as a prophetic hadith because it has not been mentioned in authentic books. The meanings and interpretations of scholars and mystics of the word ‘ways’ can be placed under the following titles: diversity of religions, proofs of God's existence, ways of knowledge, mystical authorities, different ways of conduct, types of faith, and divine names. https://jpll.ui.ac.ir/article_25687_c902087cc184a03358d3b01b11927f40.pdf