Ostad Elahi's thought, while touching on many aspects of Greek and Persian philosophy, is mainly focused on the Source and the eschatology of all beings, especially humans. As such, discussions pertaining to spirituality, ethics, rights, and duties are among its fundamental pillars.

Greco-Persian Philosophy

This school of thought covers a broad spectrum that includes Greco-Islamic philosophy, Kurdish doctrines, and pre-Islamic Persian philosophy. Over the course of the millennia and as a result of multiple invasions, Persian culture and mysticism have been influenced by a variety of religious and philosophical traditions.

Persian philosophers, among whom Ostad Elahi is properly considered, comprise a chain of important Persian moralists (Miskawayh, Tusi, Davani) as well as Neo-Platonic and Aristotelian philosophers (Suhrawardi and Farabi). One of the greatest representatives of Persian philosophy who invoked all these orientations and influenced Persian philosophers until the 20th century, including Ostad Elahi himself, is Mulla Sadra, who was considered as the Plato of his time. Inheriting the philosophical terminology and metaphysics of Mulla Sadra, Ostad Elahi adapted certain elements of Kurdish doctrine to Sadra's philosophy. Ostad Elahi was also a moralist, however, and in that sense was aligned with the Aristotelian tradition of the perfection of virtues. At the same time, he also devoted himself to the ancient theme of the medicine of the soul, which had been transmitted to the Arabs by the Greeks (Galen) and revived in the Islamic world by Avicenna.

Persian Mysticism

Ostad Elahi also inherited the Kurdish-Persian mystical tradition that is comprised of two different cultures: a specific mystical Kurdish culture (the Ahl-e Haqq culture), and a scholarly and comprehensive mystical culture that features luminous personalities such as Hallaj and great poets such as Hafez, Attar, and Rumi. In Iran, mysticism influenced by philosophy (especially Neo-Platonism) and Greco-Islamic moralism rests on the religion of Shiism. This type of mysticism observes the inner, transcendent, and universal aspects of religion more than its doctrinal and ceremonial aspects. In such a context, mysticism is the reflection of what Henri Corbin has called theosophy.

Encompassing all these various elements, a distinguishing feature of Ostad Elahi's thought is both its complexity and subtlety. A modern thinker who was heir to medieval and ancient traditions, Ostad Elahi combined elements of modernity with reinterpretations of philosophical traditions. His philosophy on rights and metaphysics, invoking certain concepts and expressions, thus reveals an approach that has integrated the principles of a modern thought with the essence of theosophy.