Foundations and Assumptions of Spiritual Journeying of Baḥya Ben Joseph ibn Paḳūda in Al-Hidāyah ilá farāʼīḍ al-qulūb

Undoubtedly, the conviction of a mystic's Spiritual Journeying is the result of a strong foundation of his epistemological Principles and assumptions. The findings of this study, which is based on library studies and with a descriptive-analytical method, examines the principles and assumptions of the Spiritual Journeying of the fifth-century Jewish mystic Baḥya Ben Joseph ibn Paḳūda. It shows that he based his Spiritual Journeying structure on the three pillars of reason, written sources and Jewish traditions. In this treatise, which is full of verses from the Bible, Baḥya pays special attention to the sayings of the Jewish predecessors and prioritizes reasoning over Jewish traditions and imitation, also believes that one who has intellectual ability should not be content with traditions. In Al-Hidāyah ilá farāʼīḍ al-qulūb one can find biblical beliefs that Bahya has hypothesized, including the Jewish people being chosen by God and the nations closest to him, and who believes that the destruction of the temple is the atonement for the great sins of the Jews. He considers the Jews to be living in a foreign land and asks God to allow the construction of the third temple.such beliefs, which are related to the spiritual aspect of a person, easily affect his intellectual and practical system.