Hooshmand Dehghan

Hooshmand Dehghan (Persian: هوشمند دهقان; born 1969) is an Iranian scholar and translator noted for his research in Babi studies and Islamic mysticism (Sufism). His work, including the book Ganj-i-Penhan on the life of Quddús, has been significantly cited by academics such as professor Boris Handal and acknowledged by scholars like Stephen Lambden. He is also known for his imprisonment in Iran due to his religious beliefs.

Dehghan was born in 1969^[1] in Kashan, Isfahan Province.^[2] He later moved to Gorgan, Golestan Province, in northeastern Iran, where he currently resides.^[3] He first became interested in the life of Quddús during his childhood while attending Dars-e Akhlaq (moral education classes held on Friday mornings). It was through the book Sāl-hāye Sabz (The Green Years)—written for Baháʼí children about the early history of the Bábí movement by Fariborz Sahba, the renowned architect of the Lotus Temple in India—that he developed a deep attachment to Quddús.^[4] His formal schooling concluded at the high school diploma level, and he did not enter a public university.^[5] He later pursued studies at the Ma'aref-e-Aali Institute (an internal religious educational body later integrated into the BIHE), where his thesis focused on the life of Quddús. This research later expanded into his major work, Ganj-i-Penhan.^[4] Later in his career, he developed skills in translation through self-study.^[2] He has so far translated thirteen books into Persian.^[5] His first translation was of the book "The Ishraqi Philosophy of Jalal al-Din Rumi" by Iraj Bashiri. His background in Islamic mysticism made the translation easier for him, but the manuscript was never published. After completing the translation of the book, he realized that the author had simultaneously prepared a Persian version of the work alongside the English original. Despite this, he immediately turned to translating William Chittick's book, "Ibn 'Arabi: Heir to the Prophets".^[6]

Dehghan's research focuses primarily on Babi studies and Islamic mysticism (Sufism).

His book, Ganj-i-Penhan (The Hidden Treasure: The Life and Works of Quddús), is about Babi studies and is held in the collections of major reference libraries, including the Library of Congress, and the universities of Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]} This book is the first independent study about Quddús (Mullá Muḥammad ʻAlí-i-Bárfurúshi), a prominent disciple of the Báb.^[13] Beyond archival research, Dehghan conducted extensive fieldwork, traveling to various Iranian cities including Shiraz, Kerman, Mashhad, Rasht, Shahmirzad, Qaem Shahr, Arab Kheyl, and Bahnemir to interview descendants and elderly witnesses of the Bábí period.^[14] During these travels, he documented unique historical findings: In Qaem Shahr, Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran, he interviewed a woman who had personally met the wife of Mulla Amina, the constant companion of Quddús.^[15] In the Jameh Mosque of Kerman, he identified the "Sang-e-Ayeneh" (the "Mirror Stone"), a site where Quddús was known to stand and recite the writings of the Báb aloud.^[16] In Babol, the birthplace of Quddús in Northern Iran, he met an elderly family who had firsthand contact with the sister-in-law of Quddús.^[17]

In addition to the life of Quddús, Ganj-i-Penhan also examines his works. Some of Quddús' works are published for the first time in this book.^[18] These works include a number of rare manuscripts of Quddús, which are compared in seven different manuscript and Arabic versions. In other words, it is in this section that Dehghan provides a critical edition of Quddús's manuscripts.^[19]

One of these manuscripts is a collection called آثار القدوسیه (Āthār al-Quddūsiyya), which contains ten manuscripts of Quddús transcribed by early Bábís. The famous orientalist Edward Granville Browne had also located this collection in the British Museum, but Dehghan argues that Browne mistakenly identified the name as ابحار القدوسیه ("Abhār al-Quddūsiyya").^[20][21] Dehghan uses an analytical and critical approach in his work, which leads him to correct several established historical errors in Bábí studies: He deeply doubts the authenticity of Mahdī Qulī Mīrzā, Nāṣer al-Dīn Shāh's cousin’s letter to Quddús;^[22] He determines the exact year, month, and day of the change of the name of Bárfurúsh to Bábul, based on reports in old newspapers;^[23] Unlike Abbas Amanat, who estimates Quddus's birth year as 1819,^[24] Dehghan determines the year 1822 based on historical evidence;^[25] In some positions, Dehghan also challenges some of the historical conclusions found in Ẓuhūr al-Ḥaqq, a book by the notable Baháʼí historian, Mírzá Asadu'llah Fádil Mázandarání.^[26] Dehghan records key narratives such as Quddús’s debate with Karím Khán Kirmání.^[27] In Babol, Dehghan physically retraced the final path of Quddús from the site of his trial to the place of his execution. By walking the route himself, he estimated the distance at 800 paces, documenting the historical journey during which Quddús endured public abuse and physical suffering.^[28] Dehghan's research demonstrates a careful critical approach in reconstructing Bábí history, a clear example of which is his firm rejection of "the image" widely believed to be Quddús.^[29] This photo was first published in the book, Bābul, Shahr-i Zībā-yi Man (Bābul, My Beautiful City).^[30]

In a 2024 article for the publication Aasoo, Dehghan explored the impact of Konya's socio-cultural environment on the intellectual development of Rumi. He argues that Konya’s vibrant atmosphere of poetry and music was the catalyst for Rumi's transition from a traditional jurist to a mystic poet. According to Dehghan's analysis, Rumi’s synthesis of poetry, music, and mysticism in the ghazals and the Masnavi was a direct product of this geographical shift, suggesting that Rumi might not have pursued poetry had he remained in Balkh.^[31]

Dehghan has also studied the Muslim mystic Ibn Arabi. He wrote extensive commentary and explanations on Ibn Arabi's mystical school in a translation of one of William Chittick's books.^[32] Specifically, he engages in the genealogy of mystical terms such as Wahdat al-wujūd (Unity of Existence).^[33] In his extensive commentaries, drawing on the research of Claude Addas and Miguel Asín Palacios, Dehghan further demonstrates that Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy was significantly influenced by Ibn Arabi's Kitāb al-Isrā (The Book of the Night Journey).^[34]

Stephen Lambden, a scholar at the University of California, Merced includes Dehghan in a list of notable Bahai historians. He writes, "Among Bahā’ī writers who wrote about the Bāb and his writings one should consult the often prolific literary output of (to be selective) Mirza Abū al-Faḍl Gulpayiganī […] Hasan Balyuzi; Alessandro Bausani; Denis MacEoin; Abbas Amanat; Moojan Momen [...] Juan Cole […] Hooshmand Dehqan […].”^[18] Lambden writes about Dehghan's book, Ganj-i penhan: sargozasht va asar-i hazrat-i Quddus, "An important volume about the life and writings of Muhammad `Ali Barfurushi entitled Quddus.” He adds "it includes important Tablets [Sacred Writings], Ziyarat-Namah [Visitation Tablet] and other materials addressed by the Báb to this important 18th Huruf al-Hayy [the first eighteen disciples of the Báb]."^[18]

Boris Handal, a professor of Educational Technologies at the University of Notre Dame Australia and researcher in Bábí and Baháʼí studies, cites Dehghan 123 times in his own book, Quddús: First in Rank. He names Dehghan as a historical advisor and evaluates several aspects of his findings.^[35] His analysis shows that Dehghan has managed to add details to the biography of Quddús, including those about Quddús’ family structure, his intellectual background, and the route of his travels.^[36] Furthermore, he devotes several pages of the book to discussing Dehghan's historical views about Quddús.^[37][38]

His translation and explanations have received attention in academic journals. Fatemeh Aghaya, PhD in Shiite Sects, among others, compares Dehghan's translation with several other translations of Chittick's book, Ibn 'Arabi: Heir to the Prophets, and writes: Dehghan has included relatively better research on Ibn Arabi's terminology in his translation.^[39] She further notes that Dehghan's work goes beyond mere translation, as he elucidates the hadith-based and mystical roots of Ibn Arabi's terminology in great detail for the reader. Aghaya specifically highlights that the Persian rendering is accompanied by beneficial research provided in the footnotes.^[39] Additionally, she affirms the fluency of Dehghan's translation in comparison to other existing Persian versions of Chittick's work.^[40]

Regarding his historical translations, in March 2016, the monthly journal Mehrnameh dedicated a 13-page dossier titled Jomhuri-ye Aameraneh (The Authoritarian Republic) to Atatürk, on the occasion of the publication of Dehghan's translation of Andrew Mango's biography.^[41] The dossier included various analyses of the work and its Persian rendering. In this dossier, the historian and member of the Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation, Rahim Raisnia, described the translation as "generally acceptable" but pointed out several inaccuracies, particularly in the recording of Turkish names and terminology. Raisnia argued that Dehghan's lack of familiarity with the Turkish language led to certain errors; for instance, he noted that Dehghan recorded the surname of Atatürk's wife starting with the Persian letter Alef (as اوشاقی‌زاده) instead of the etymologically correct Eyn (as عشاقی‌زاده).^[42]

Dehghan was arrested in Gorgan in the fall of 2012 during a wave of arrests of Baha’is in Golestan Province.^[43] He was initially sentenced to a total of six years in prison for his adherence to the Baha’i faith, on charges including “membership in an illegal Baha’i organization with the intent to undermine national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”^[44][45] This initial sentence was later reduced to one year in prison by the Court of Appeal in January 2016. He was subsequently re-arrested in June 2017 and transferred to Gorgan’s Amirabad Prison to serve his sentence.^[46][47][48] In August 2017, after suffering brain strokes, Dehghan was approved by a physician and subsequently transported to the hospital in handcuffs and foot restraints.^[49] He conditionally released from prison after having completed one-third of his sentence.^[50]

• Dehghan, Hooshmand (2016). Ganj-i-Penhan: Sarguzasht va Asar-i Hazrat-i Quddus (The Hidden Treasure: The Life and Works of Quddus). Luxembourg: Intishārāt-i ʻĀdil. ISBN 978-3-01-003131-8.

Dehghan has translated numerous works by prominent international authors into Persian, with a primary focus on Islamic mysticism, as well as topics such as philosophy, history, and sociology. Between 2014 and 2020, his professional output in Iran included thirteen translated volumes. His work has been featured in literary media; for instance, his rendering of Martin Suter's A Small World was the subject of an analytical review by the critic Faraj Sarkohi on Radio Farda.^[51] According to the records of the National Library and Archives of Iran, no further translations by Dehghan have been released in the country since that period.^[1] Dehghan views translation as a "cross-cultural bridge" for mutual understanding, often contrasting the "fluidity" of modern European thought with the "profound depth" of classical mystical philosophy, such as that of Ibn Arabi. He emphasizes that beyond mere linguistic transfer, the translator’s role is to convey the distinct intellectual temperament and cultural context of the original author.^[5]

• Quddús
• Ganj-i-Penhan
• Babism

• Aghaya, Fatemeh (2023). "Dehghan's Translation of Chittick's Book on Ibn Arabi and Its Terminology". Interdisciplinary Studies on the Quran and Hadith. 4 (1): 81–99. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
• Chittick, William (2014). Ibn Arabi: Varis-e Anbiya [Ibn 'Arabi: Heir to the Prophets] (in Persian). Translated by Hooshmand Dehghan. Tehran: Payam-e Emrooz.
• Dehghan, Hooshmand (2016). Ganj-i-Penhan: Sarguzasht va Asar-i Hazrat-i Quddus (in Persian). [Luxembourg]: Intishārāt-i ʻĀdil. ISBN 978-3-01-003131-8.
• Handal, Boris (2024). Quddús: First in Rank (PDF). Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 978-0-87743-383-5 – via Baháʼí Library Online.

• Qoddūs, Mohammad-ʿAlī Bārfurūšī (Encyclopædia Iranica) – an article about the primary subject of Dehghan's historical research.
• Hooshmand Dehghan at Academia.edu – scholarly papers and research on Babi studies and Sufism.