People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
L'Arbi Ben M’hidi University - Oum El Bouaghi
Faculty of Letters and Languages
Department of English
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Spiritual Healing: Perpetual Words
By: HEBBOUDJI Nardjess
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Master in Anglo-American Studies
Supervisor: Mr. FILALI Billel
2017-2018
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Acknowledgements
I am profoundly grateful to my Brilliant supervisor Mr. FILALI Billel, who passed to me the love of powerful words and spiritual depth, whose help and assistance to me have been of inestimable value.
I am also indebted to the members of my family: starting by my dearest parents who were by my side all over my life. Part of this success was due to the support offered by my beloved sisters Celia and Zahra.
Finally, I wish to pay my tribute to my aunts Rima and Samia, my uncle Ali, and my cousins
Hamza, Ibtissem, Kamel, Karima, and Ouafa. Their encouragement constantly eased my path.
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Abstract
“Spiritual Healing: Perpetual Words” attempts to analyze and prove the possibility of the cultural travel from eastern to western realms of the world through “mystic lexicon”.
The study also, attempts at assessing critically the notable similarities and differences between Eastern Sufism and Western Mysticism, and examining major Islamic mystical ideologies.
Therefore, the research is aiming at studying and analyzing the way in which Sufism, with all its aspects, was able to penetrate into the American society by covering major factors that helped the enculturation of the phenomenon, and how religious and cultural groups facilitated its existence in U.S.
Moreover, it examines the impact of the Masnavi, a significant Parisian work in the United States through different versions and translations. By doing so, it seeks to unveil the real facets of Sufism and how it was perceived and welcomed by the Americans, making oriental Rumi the best-selling poet in U.S.
Key Words: mystic lexicon, East, West, United Sates, Masnavi, Rumi, Sufism, mysticism.
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Table of Contents
Abstract…..………………………………………………………………………..……………і Résumé…..…………………………………………………………………………………......іі
ііі……….……………………………………………………………….....................……ملخص
Dedication ……...……………………………………………………………………………..iv Acknowledgements.………………………………………………………………………...….v Table of
Contents……………………………………………………………………………...vi
General Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...1
Chapter I: Mysticism, Islamic Sufism and, Sufi Literature: a Brief Overview
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………… 4
I - Western Mysticism vs Eastern Sufism: a Comparative Study…………..……5
II- Sufism……………………………………………………………………………………....8
III- Sufism: its Ideologies and Principles ……………………………………………………12
VI- Sufi Literature………………………………………………………………………..…..16
1- Omar Khayyem .………………………………………………………………………....17
2- Saadi …………………………………………………………………………...........…...20
3- Hafiz ……………………………………………………………………………………..22
4- Rumi: a Short Biography……………………...………………………………….....….. 24
Conclusion ...…………………………………………………………………………………26
Chapter II: American Sufism: Turning to the Core of Spirituality
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………..28
I- Sufism in Europe and North America ........................................29
II- Oriental Sufism vs American Transcendentalism: a Comparative Study.…35
III- The Impact of Rumi in the Western World: Versions and Translations ..39
VI- Rumi Phenomenon in the United States ………………………………………………....42
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………...……46
General Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………...…...48
Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………………...…51
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General Introduction
For many people, the mere mention of the word" Sufism" brings to minds ideas of:
people wearing woolen clothes, asceticism, and whirling dervishes. All of which are, indeed, key icons of Sufism, however, before looking in details, at the various critical dimensions of
Islamic mysticism (Sufism). One should recognize that Sufism in its discourse is indefinite. What is evident is that this system of corrected behaviors is inspired from the spiritual and mystical philosophy of Islam, based on direct connection with God. Sufis dedicate themselves to Allah through meditation, repetitive prayer, remembrance and non-violence. The doctrine in its broad sense deals with both esoteric and exoteric meanings of Quranic verses, writing poems, and reciting them in Zaouays.
Poetry that embodied the Sufi contexts is undoubtedly the key element that makes the readers respond to such literature, especially the one of the thirteen Century which marked the Golden Age of the greatest mystical art and literature. Prominent poets like: Attar, Sa'di, and Hafiz had shaped this poetry. Many western writers and poets were influenced by its heritage like: Edward Fitzgerald translation of Omar el Khayyam’s Quatrains, which made a fortune in Victorian England and later on in United States. The Masnavi also achieved a great commercial success, making Rumi the best-selling poet in USA.
The so called “Quran with Persian tongue” continued to be significant in recent years, and it was translated into 23 languages. Its tremendous impact in western society was shown through the appreciation of many poets such as: Robert Bly who advised Coleman Barks to translate Rumi's book, suggesting that: “these poems need to be released from their cages”. Indeed, the Masnavi was translated despite the growth of the anti-Islamic sentiment. Such effort rendered the translation more original, making it a unique American spiritual poetry.
William Chittick, an eloquent figure in Islamic philosophy described Rumi as “the greatest spiritual master of Islam”, and maintained that his works are “the most studied by
Western Orientalists”. Moreover, the UNESCO celebrated in 2007 an international year of
Rumi. Symbolically, Rumi is regarded as the appropriate representative of peace in the world. Opponents in the other hand found the couplets of the Masnavi uneasy to comprehend; western readerships left perplexed whenever reading its unordered anecdotes. For them, Rumi’s narrative lyrics are difficult to follow. Although, the Masnavi received a deep veneration even among non-Muslims especially Christians and Jews.
This research purports to study and analyze the way in which Sufism, with all its aspects, was able to penetrate into the American society. It seeks to unveil the real facets of Sufism, and how it was perceived and welcomed by the Americans. The study attempts also to examine the reasons behind the engagement of Islamic mysticism in USA as a feature of new cultural horizon.
Structurally, this research is divided into two main sections; a theoretical and a practical. The theoretical part (chapter I) explores western mysticism and eastern Sufism from theological point of view, highlighting its remarkable similarities and differences. Then, it determines the etymology of Sufism as Islamic dimension and underlines the different Sufi ideologies and principles. Finally, the chapter proceeds to analyze four major Sufi figures with an attempt to trace their impact in both eastern and western spheres of the world.
The second section of the research (chapter II) encompasses a whole chapter that deals with the Masnavi as a case of study in general and the Essential Rumi in particular, considering the last as the English ramification of the original work. It covers a historical survey over the factors behind the infiltration of Sufism in Europe and North America, the academic intention to Sufism, and the different religious and cultural affiliations. The latter made allowance for Transcendentalism to prosper as a literary movement. The last parts of the chapter highlight the different versions and translation of the Masnavi. At the end, the chapter is concluded with a demonstration of Rumi from American angle and a shared cultural
heritage.
It is noteworthy to mention that the analysis of the case of the Masnavi cannot be attained easily, since the accessibility of its sources was a hindrance for the researcher. In addition to the unavailability of references related to the topic, the course of research depended on translations from Arabic and French books. The step to put a title to the research witnessed some difficulties too, because it is a multi-disciplinary approach that combines between civilizational, literary, theological, and other angles that measure it from different aspects of the society.
Importantly, some quotations from Quran in these data seemed less reliable if compared with other authentic sources. So, some personal efforts are made in order to give strength to the arguments of the research. Other sources with Persian language were totally ignored because of the inability of mastering this language.
Methodologically, the research uses many methodological approaches such as the comparative approach in the first part of the chapter dealing with eastern and western mysticism, the historical, and the descriptive approaches in both chapters. While the analytical approach; analyzed the case of study. Finally, the quantitative as well as the qualitative approaches in analyzing, evaluating the facts and events using the given data (books, articles, essays, dissertations…). All these approaches are pursued under the MLA 7th edition format.
Chapter One
Mysticism, Islamic Sufism, and Sufi Literature: a Brief Overview
Introduction
In time where the world suffers from a religious strife and the spiritual upheaval one doubts his/ her identity, displacement, the meaning of life…and survives purposelessly. As consequence, many chose to put an end to their lives, disregarding the penalties. Others stack in state of madness trying to answer such questions. Both cases are in fact because of the spiritual vacuum, the emptiness of society, and the institutionalization of materialism. For these reasons, many sought to find a smooth way to satisfy their unhappy souls by moving eastward and encountering the Sufi dogma, and gaining in return part of peace.
The chapter deals with Sufism from the side of its Islamic theosophy and cultural aspect. It shows the way in which Sufism was successful in giving a brighter image to Islam as a religion in western circles in general and the American society in particular. The chapter sheds light on the remarkable similarities and differences between eastern Sufism and western mysticism throughout determining the etymology of Islamic mysticism, and the various opinions between opponents and proponents. It assesses its ideology and identifies some of its principles. Lastly, it examines the influence of Sufi literature in the west, learning about some towering figures and highlighting their main writings.
I-Eastern Sufism Vs Western Mysticism: A Comparative Study
The American Heritage Dictionary of English Language defines mysticism as: “A spiritual discipline aiming at the union with the divine through deep meditation or trancelike contemplation” (Shrader 3). Principally, it is based on intuition and senses. Though, it has its sacred value. It is derived from Latin mysterium which came from the Greek term musterion or secret rites. Undoubtedly, esotericism in its theoretical side survived form ancient times and occurs in almost world religions. For example in Judaism, the well-known Maimonides of the 12th Century wrote very significant mystical texts such as A Guide for the Perplexed. In Christian Europe St. Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart, and later on John of the Cross pioneered Christian mysticism. Sa’di and Rumi paved the way for the Islamic one (Barret & Griffiths 396).
These esoteric texts are often characterized by mystical experiences mostly expressed on theological and philosophical literatures by pious men and prophets within religious traditions (Barrett & Griffiths 395).
[Mystical experiences]: are those peculiar state of consciousness in which the individual discovers himself to be one continuous progress with god, with the universe, with the ground of being, or whatever name he may use by cultural conditioning or personal preference for the ultimate and eternal reality. (qtn in Barret & Griffiths 395)
According to Barrett and Griffiths, mystical experiences happen while shaping religious and spiritual practices. Sometimes coincidently. It has two forms the extroversive; the acknowledgment of monotheism whereby you find the oneness in the hearts of the inner reality, and introversive which encompasses a total dissolution of the self-loss of egocentrism and the loss of all borders (397).
Mysticism is often associated to many alternatives like: Sufism, Esotericism, and spirituality. Though, the term spirituality is new perception in the western world, it appeared lately during the 16th and 17th Century in France and then gradually moved to many European vernacular languages. Nowadays, it is used to define religion. By contrast, early ages of Latin Catholicism were familiar with the word “spiritus” which in fact has a very a definite meaning; a cosmological and metaphysical prominence above the psyche. In the other hand, spirituality “Ruhaniyyet” or “maanaviyyet” in the eastern side of the earth designates the inner meaning of things, a term which was attained from Quran and was glorified because it is from “the command of Lord” as suggested by Seyyed Hussein Nasr (209).
In the western world, mysticism has always been related to the union of deity. Yet, it was neither mentioned in the Old Testament nor the modern one. Historically, the term was linked to Clement of Alexandria in the late 2nd Century; Clement tackled the aim behind the spiritual practices and the unification with the divine. Another feature to consider is when Origan of Alexandria established a theology based on mysticism that became institutionalized by the 4th Century. But, it was only addressed to the monastic leaders and never regarded to as an academic discipline (McGinn 51-52).
Contextually, by the 12th Century, new mysticism emerged by the Protestants which was more opened if compared to the old one since it accepts all believers, including the females who participated in these spiritual experiences. Quickly, the subject became less interesting, because many mystics suggested that the main goal of contemplatives in the unification with God is about vanishing the distinction between God and soul. Other mystics employ the excessive language about the madness of love and the lascivious issues which often discussed topics like the ecstasy. Furthermore, some mystics were judged by heresy of “a free spirit” for disregarding the role of church and overemphasizing the deeper presence of God (McGinn 51, 53).
Similar to western mysticism, eastern Sufism attempted to a direct liaison of man to God, who is considered as a companion and beloved rather than a draconian powerful ruler of mankind fates. In fact, Sufism seeks to know God by religious experience which is above all intuitions and intellect (Ghosh & Mir 76). It is therefore worth to say that early Sufis were affected by the Christian priests in Egypt and Syria who were renowned by deprivation and other spiritual practices. Even prophet Muhammed (PBUH) had a good relation with a Syrian monk called Bahira (Sergius).Yet; Muslim Sufis did not adopt all Christian traditions and rejected some basics of western mysticism. However, asceticism remained prominent until modern days (Cook 1-2).
Cook continued that some of the Sufi literatures have a Christian derivation. Some Sufi passages are even extracted from the bible. Parallel to western mystics, the ascetic Sufis share similar practices. To mention some, both admire the extra prayers at night, fasting, and total rejection of sleeping. Additionally, many prefer to be accompanied by the fakirs (2). In his book Bezels of Wisdom Ibn –al Arabi of the 12th Century wrote an influential chapter about Jesus (Jae 1).
The Quranic Sufi interpretations of Jesus are different from the Christian ones. According to Rezazadeh, “Jesus the spirit of God” is regarded as a major prophet in Islam and has a great place in Islamic mysticism, eschatology, and morality. Though, this prophet is always related to his mother whenever Quran mentions him “Isa ibn Maryam”, because the holy book considers him as a human being not a divine as Christianity purports (47-48).
For Quranic verses, the death of Jesus is only a delusion of the Christian myth. God ascended him, God said:
O Jesus! I will be One Who Gathers thee and One Who Elevates thee to Myself and One Who Purifies thee from those who were ungrateful, and One Who Makes those who followed thee above those who were ungrateful until the Day of Resurrection. Again, you will return to Me. Then, I will give judgment between you about what you had been at variance in it. (Sublime Qur'an, Al
Imran 3:55)
By this perspective one notes that Quran denies the crucifixion of Jesus (Reynolds 240).
According to eastern mystics, Jesus is a “proto Sufi” and a messenger from God. Arguing against the western mystic point of view, Sufis had never considered Jesus as human divine and “savior figure”. In the other hand, Jesus for Sufis like the Christians has always been an icon of pureness, perfection, love, and remedy. The shared picture about Jesus is most likely inspired from the common ecumenical perceptions between the Muslims and
Christians, as well as the tolerant Sufi point of view to the other religious affiliations (Milani 47- 48).
II- Sufism
There are various distinguished views over the etymology of the term “Sufism”. Some scholars argued that the origin of the word “Sufism” derived from the Arabic word “Safaa” which refers to the human’s pureness of souls, hearts, and behaviors. Other researchers maintain that it came from the Greek expression “SiyuSoofia” which means divine knowledge. Moreover, some scholars denote that the word signifies “Sufana” i.e., a kind of plant. Others proclaim that Sufism designates “Soofa” that alludes to an old clan that their members devoted themselves to the service of “Kaaba. Other researchers purports that it is originated from the term “Soof” which means wool, generally symbolizes the asceticism from life desires (Belqies 56). According to Khannam, “ahle suffa” are people who spent their lives in worshiping and learning by heart Quranic verses and prophetic hadith, in the time of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (9).
Synonymous to Islam, Sufism is used as an alternative to the peaceful religion making a profound impact in different parts of the world. Irrespective to Islamic theological divisions, Sufism encompasses both branches of Islam, similar to orthodox Muslims; Sufis seek to reach a perfect obedience. However, their affinity to be unified with God in this world permits them to be “Proto Type Muslims” (Miller 1).
Related to Islam, Sufism is considered as the core of religion. Nicholson, Stoddert, et al. pointed out that “There is no Sufism without Islam because Sufism is the spirituality or mysticism of the religion of Islam” (qtd in Belqies 55). Supporting this argument, Anne Marie Schimmel in her book Mystical Dimension of Islam argued that Quran is the “the unique lexicon” for Muslims, since it bears exoteric and esoteric meanings (24). In parallel, Chittick goes in the same line with Schimmel, and believed that Sufism is allied to Islam and is accountable for the crystallization of Islamic spirituality and moral ideals (4).
As a matter of fact, the growth of Sufism has always been a debatable focus. Many scholars claimed that it aroused from the cadavers of previous religions while others maintained that it flourished duo to the conflicts that stirred after the death of the prophet. Some historians argued that Muhammad (PBUH) was the first Sufi. According to Anuzsia, Sufism emerged because of the disagreements between some Ulama (scholars) and the breakdown over who should be the heir to the prophet (2).
As it was mentioned before, the rigorous era of the Umayyad dynasty pushed many to be far away from the society and preferred the solitude in order to seek the peace of soul. In fact, the period witnessed a shift from the prestigious secular life to a very sober one, whereby people start to consecrate themselves to Allah. It is important to mention that at that period, spirituality was used as an alternative to Islam as a religion; they considered both as one (Gupta 12).
By the 9th C, sharia law was considered insufficient to reduce the distance between man and God. For this reason, they began to assume certain additional spiritual practices. Moreover, Sufism was institutionalized and many clerics established some orders that facilitate the remembrance of god. Duo to these orders, Islam occupied the heartlands of Asia and Indian subcontinents. However, these orders embraced their own rules that are far away from sharia law (Gupta 12).
Gupta approved that Sufism became crystalized by the appearance of the Mu’tazilate school, a group that intensified reason and rationality. From this perspective, the phenomenon perceived a shift to Gnosticism and logic. Later on, during the rule of Mamoun the son of Haroun A-Rashid, many religious dialogues have been advocated. The fruits subsequently, developed Sufism and engaged it in new form of Gnosticism, theosophy, and monotheism (13,16).
At the beginning of 20th Century, the majority of Muslims were influenced by Sufism. However, opposition to Sufism gradually shaped both western and Muslims thoughts. For example in 1950, A.J. Arrberry propelled a rigid sharp criticism on the later exhibition of Sufism. The impression that Sufism gave about Islam was not very appreciated since it misrepresented its sacred law (Sirriyeh 2).
Word that had not lived to see every demented madman help up his follows as
“Pole”.
Their ulama take refuge in him; indeed they have even adopted him as a Lord,
instead of the Lord of the thrown,
For they have forgotten God, saying, “so and provides deliverance from
suffering from all mankind”
When he dies, they make him the object of the pilgrimage and hasten to his
shrine, Arabs and foreigners alike: Some kiss his grave, and some threshold of his door, and the dust.
Indeed, people at that time were visiting the regional graves of the so called ‘saints’ and ‘God’s friends’.
Thus, the image of saints was more exulted than God himself, and the mediocrity of these “wallayas” was very common for the Sufis and the anti-Sufis. Not only Arberry who claimed the illegitimacy of such traditions, but also the “Wahhabi sect” in which sheikh Abdu Allah, the son of the initiator of the Wahhabis criticized the excessive meetings in these graves and the decoration of their tombs with gold and silver, at the extent that it became more significant than regular prayers in mosques. Hence, the recitation of Sufi poetry was favored more than the psalmody of the Quran itself (Sirriyeh 2-3). Furthermore, Sufism was also accused by liberals of being responsible for the technological tardiness and social backward (Cook 9).
In the other hand, the fascination of Sufism and the mystical elements of Islam tainted
Jewish and Christian thoughts from early ages. For instance, the contact zones between Christians and Muslims permitted more tolerant view to Islamic mysticism in Sicily. During his reign, Fredrick II was deeply influenced by the Sufi traditions; his ability to master Arabic engaged him to read a great deal of Sufi poetry, in spite of his crusading campaign in the East (O'Leary 279). Moreover, Pugio Fidei adversum Mauros et Judaeos of Raymond Martini was in fact influenced by al-Ghazali's Destruction of the Philosophers. It is also worthy to mention that this Latin scholastic was significantly motivated by the doctrine of the First Intelligence found by al-Ghazali and his Emanation of mystical Theory (O'Leary 288-289).
Jewish thoughts were also enthralled by Islamic mystic beliefs, especially after the flourishment of Sufism. According to Pytlik, there was a mutual admiration between Jewish and Sufi ideologies which history has seldom underlined. In fact, Judaism initially influenced
Sufism in its constructive step in Baghdad. Yet, with the growth of Sufism, Jewish mystics
started to indicate their immense appreciation to the Sufi tradition. It is the Maimonides son, Abraham, who rotated his interest into a Sufi direction with Jewish mystic practices. The latter, believed that Sufis followed Israeli prophets (8).
Even Islamic mysticism borrowed from “Isra’iliyyat”, which came from a Jewish structure Pirkei Avot (Saying of the Fathers). When Sufism flourished, many Jews converted to Islamic mysticism; they found its dogma very systematic and full of mystical approach. By the 13th C, an important concern toward the nature of the letters in the Holy Scriptures has been raised between Ibn al- Arabi and Jewish mystics in order to discuss topics about the divine holiness and mystical veracities; they end up with a composition entitled Gematria in which both traditions contributed to this work (Pytlik 9).
In addition to that, many European Catholics and Protestants of the 19th C sympathized with Sufism like Louis Massignon , his student Henri Corbin , and later on Frithjof Schuon3. All of whom presented Islamic mysticism in reliable style and great rationality. They had also headed momentous Sufi schedules. In America, the spiritual teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan and the Haqqani foundation made Sufism more popular, especially with the establishment of the Sufi international movements and the contributions of western academic followers of Ibn al –Arabi in the arena (Cook 10).
III- Sufism: its Ideologies and Principles
Unmistakably, Quran is the quintessence of Islamic mysticism; this can be deduced from the literary, metaphysical, and the philosophical horizon. Apart from that, Quran can be
interpreted from its mystical side in which Sufis adopt certain ideologies to their path. First and foremost, Man is considered as a spark from the light of God, all human kind belongs to God’s light and each individual is separated from it, and attempts to meet again with the divine spirit. Returning is of a high priority in the Sufi doctrine, it is often marked by devotion and adoration which subsequently guide to God (Arian Ali 31).
Contextually, Sufis are interested in the inner reality, a reality that compromises both the recognized and the anonymous worlds. In fact, they are more subject to the imaginary and the non-existed rather than the ordinary world paying a little attention to the time, space, and the fundamental aspects of the vital exterior world. Sufis had never been against the outer world and the acknowledgement of the natural creation (Arian Ali 31).
The idea that God settles on a throne and commands from the highest heaven is not really accurate. According to the Sufi ideology, God is everywhere and now_ “And We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein” (Sublime Quran, Qaf 50:16), which makes them initiative to a deep ecstasy within oneself. Nevertheless, they struggle outwardly towards enhanced life, neglecting the decisive consequences. This struggle is indeed indispensable for the inner purification and beatitude that help them to reach their goal (Arian Ali 31).
“Die before die” is among the prominent dogmas in Sufism. Seeking truth and Sufi origin is their chief tasks that deserve riskiness including death. The latter is the cheerful fate that no one can eliminate. Hence, death is the vehicle to God and the only bridge to be with the divine without lamenting their destiny because it is honorable (Arian Ali 33).
A Sufi also possesses an eye to see. The eye in this context does not refer to the ordinary eye of human body, but the one of heart that enables to see the veiled reality. Correspondingly, a Sufi can see his beloved (God) through this eye. For example; in one of the famous love stories of Arabic heritage “Leila and El-Majnoun”, Leila was always far away from him. Yet, El-Majnoun could see her no matter where and when. Metaphorically, for the amorousness of Lord, Leila was the beloved. And for this reason Sufis seek to stimulate the eye of their hearts to uncover all veils (Arian Ali 33).
Furthermore, the doctrine seeks the excellence of man through continued stages of Sufi illumination under different qualities. The perfect man, thus, is a miniature of God’s perfection and he behaves typically according to the divine manifestation (Brown 76).
He is the pole (qutb) around which the universe revolves. In his essence, he is the ruh called by various epithets such as Haqiqat-i- Muhamadi (first intellectual) and Ruh- ul-Qudus (the pure soul). ( qtd in Brown77)
Among the controversial issues that the Sufi philosophy looks for is whether God is male or female. Obviously, God is above gender differences or any duality, he is therefore unlimited and absolute. However, it is frequently pronounced from feminine angle when referring to “the beloved”, symbolically showing the qualities of mercy, beauty, and wisdom (Brown 74).
However, the core of the Sufi beliefs that represent the pain of the everyday life can be eradicated through salvation and returning to God. This philosophy affords an outline that helps people to understand their relation with God that makes the human being moves from his concrete situation to the final objective of human life. By contrast, society is always attempting to neglect such kind of people because they alert the whole environment about its falseness. The best example is embodied in the personality of al Hallaj Mansour who was never tolerated about his thoughts and mainly the one that is “chosen by God” (Arian Ali 32, 35).
Encompassed by different pillars of Sufism, one can state four major principles: first, the oneness (tawhid), one of the obvious subjects of Sufism that exists in both traditionalist and universal angles. The term is generally, referred to the divine unity of devotion in which “there is no God but Allah”. It underlines the unity and the uniqueness of God as creator and the upholder of the universe (Brown 73).
Steven Masood defines tawhid as the amalgamation with the Lord, an explanation that is not recognized by all Muslims. Though, it may advocate the idea that the creator and the creatures are integrated to each other. Supporting such argument, Hazrat Inayat Khan argued that “God and man are not two; the Sufi does not consider God separated from him”. The idea is all about the surrounding to God’s will and losing selfness in God’s presence. However, being linked to God does not mean inclining godliness, but incorporating their individual consciousness with the upholder (Brown 74).
The second principle is remembrance, which is exposed in the Quran more than forty times. It designates the knowledge conveyed by the prophet as “dhikr” or “reminder”. According to William Chittick, the only health-giving to Adam’s children inadvertency and forgetfulness is remembrance that is generally yielded by the prophets, taking in consideration the human response (63).
For the Sufis, the word also indicates the way of full awareness toward God. It can therefore, refer to the mention of Lord. The word furthermore is discussed in many discourses in a juxtaposition with “du’aa” or “supplication” which means calling upon God when you need him. Generally, the latter takes the shape of request in formal way and not forcibly repeated. While dhikr employs Arabic names usually extracted from Quran and the prophetic hadiths but both are non-compulsory, and distinctive from the five daily prayers (Chittick 64).
At the end, Chittick maintained that the only way to understand the dhikr approach is by answering the three questions: what is to be remembered? The aim of remembrance, (God whose reality is acknowledged by Shahada), why should be God remembered, (Because he is the dominator and only one responsible for the human beings faiths and the tranquility requires remembrance), how it can be remembered? By following the prophet who is the best example to be followed (65).
Beyond shadow of doubt, love is among the prominent themes of Sufi principles. According to Brown, love and heart exceeded the gnosis in the Sufi context. In fact, Sufism is generally entitled “the path of love” and “the religion of heart”. Love and hearts are multidiscursive terms; it may refer to the core of human being or the source of enlightenment. Hand in hand, Lings argued that the heart is “the spark of spirit” which has the qualities of divinity. Thus, it is the one responsible for the transcendence (80-81).
From the 13th century onward, there was a shift from mysticism and asceticism of the Sufi teaching to an emphasis to love and devotion. Sufism valued love since it is highlighted in the Quran “he loves them and they love him” (5:54). Ultimately, God loves his creatures first, and then they come to love him by following the model of the prophet (PBUH) where by it permitted the refinement and the pureness of their souls. At the end, they become perfect (Chittick 74, 77).
Affording forty days period of isolation and sitting alone are some of the common manners of the Sufi meditation. Such seclusion is done for the purpose of purifying the inner soul (batin), illuminating hearts, and reaching spiritual perfection. Apart from that, apparently these traditions rooted back to some prophetic hadiths, even the prophet (PBUH) before his revelation had the habit of going in the cave of Hira and spent forty days in ( Far & Bozorgi 110-111).
VI- Sufi Literature
A.J Arberry has frequently termed the olden times of Persian poetry as “the Golden Era”; taking into account its mystical poets and the impact that they left upon the history of literature. As a matter of fact, the Sufi poetry gained a particular recognition among several authors including the British orientalist Reynold Nicholson. Other critics saw Sufi poetry as “the mine of Persian literature”, while Costello honored it and described it as an impressive diamond used in the structure of palaces in the air (Moghaddas & Boostani 76).
Sufi poetry took different forms. The major ones are: the quatrains; which came from Arabic origin Robaai. Probably, Rudaki was the first to initiate this form of poems in which there two couplets of lines are ordered within two internal rhymes. The qasidah generally deals with sarcasm, compliment, and morality. Unlike the quatrains, the qasidah is longer and mono-rhymed. In addition to that, the ghazel which is classically, characterized by the theme of love. The mathnawi: narrative lyrical poems that enclose internal rhymes altered with each line (Moghaddas & Boostani 77).
Considerable poets of the medieval period played an effective role in improving the
Sufi maturity in poetry. Such poets are usually viewed as the most eloquent authorities in the Sufi heritage and helped to open a window on the Persian culture for others. This section includes four poets who have a gigantic influence on the western world and facilitate to offer masterpieces to other cultures.
1 - Omar Khayyam
Let’s begin with Abu’l Fath ibn Ibrahim Khayyam, branded most broadly by Omar
Khayyam (1048_1131), Neishapurian poet from Khorasan, raised in a middle class family. “Khayyam” signifies “tent maker”, a title which has been innate from his father Ibrahim who quickly discovered his son aptitude and the necessity to be skilled under prominent masters of the time and finally finds Qadi Muhammed, the imam of the mosque under whom he received his lessons. The latter uncovered how much the kid was talented and tried to improve his skills (Green).
After grasping Quranic sciences, Arabic, grammar, literature, and other sciences, Khayyam decided to be educated from other master, Khawaja Abu al Hassan Ambary with whom he made efforts in different sections of mathematics, astronomy and, traditional cosmological doctrines. Rapidly, Omar was ready to study with the famous Muwaffaq Nishaburi, “who taught only the best of the best”. The one was responsible for the education of gifted children and the aristocracy class. Lastly, he studied philosophy with Sheikh
Muhammed Mansur where he became aware with the texts of the great Avicenna (Aminrazavi 19-20).
The factors that affected Khayyam knowledge were also the two journeys that he spent far away from Neishapur. The first was an invitation from his children companion, Nezam Al Mulk who became vizier and established a series of schools entitled Nizamiyeh in Baghdad, Nishapur, and Isfahan where he accepted to be a teacher there. But, Om ar quickly returned to his native land, because of the disputes with other scholars. Then, he came back after the assassination of the king Alp Arslan. Though, his health declined, and he returned immediately to Nishapur after the approval of the Sultan (Aminrazavi 27-28).
After his death, Khayyam left about 14 treatises that discuss scientific nature. However, the treaties were introduced in such way that non experts cannot comprehend. Among them, a Translation of Treatise on Avicenna Lucid Discourse: an Arabic
interpretation of Avicenna that labelled the difficulties in supposing his attitudes, and whether they are unplanned or determined, emphasizing the link between time, gesture and God
(Aminrazavi 34).
On Existence is therefore, one of the significant works of Khayyam, originally written in Arabic. It argues themes of existence and non-existence. In addition to the metaphysical interpretation of God’s creation, highlighting a good example of the fire which yields light without any intention (Aminrazavi 37).
Finally, the Quatrains: the most debatable part of Khayyam reviews. The Rubbaiyat, in fact are combination of two classical languages Arabic and Persian; however, Persian language has a great portion in increasing Khayyam particular reputation. Only 25 poems belong to Arabic. The latter are written in two hemisected stanzas and well attributed.
Nevertheless, many doubt about their legitimacy and drop them from the customary studies of Khayyam (Aminrazevi 39).
According to Araghi and Ramezanpoor, the Quatrains of Khayyam gained popularity in the West decades before. He maintained that, the early appearance of Quatrains was in the 17th C in the writing of Thomas Hyde. The latter translated parts of the Quatrains in his work Veterum Persarumet Parthorum et Medorum Religionis. However, the arrangement of the whole Quatrains in the Western works was precisely during the 19th C, in England, and America. These translations were directed in more planned method, while it was less formal in France and Germany (111).
It is crucial to denote the famous translation of Edward FitzGerald’s Quatrains; this American poet was able to demonstrate the Persian beliefs without mastering language, and grasping the oriental wisdom in very appropriate manner (206). Fatefully, Khayyam became a legendary in the west, thanks to his translation (Katouzian 2). In the other hand, Omar Khayyam Club in America afforded to the arena of literature through several versions of the translation, and end up by establishing a literary school, engaged in Khayyam aspects of literature. Whose members gave themselves the title of “Omarians” (Aminrazavi S &ALM 223).
2 – Saadi
Another poet of the classical Persian writers that headed the list was Sa’di. According to Davie. M.D, Muslih - Adin was born at Shiraz, in Persia, on 1176 AD; the title Sa’di, however was picked up from the king of Persia Saad Attabak. Sa’di bloodlines are possibly from Ali the cousin of the prophet Muhammed. The position of his father in the government permitted him to be close from the aristocracy, enjoying some advocacy and enthusiasm. Sooner, the father died, leaving Sa’di and his mother in cruel estate which forced them to go to Saracen (’).
Quickly, Sa’di learned religious education and attained the title of Sheikh. To continue his learning, he went to Baghdad where he became less known being foreigner and moneyless. When he was 21 years old, he joined the Nizamiyyeh School where he improved his capacities, and persisted at Baghdad till 64 years old, having great position as poet.
However, the instability of the situation during the reign of Mutasim Billah, the son of Haroun- AR Rashid, caused him to run away from Baghdad (M.D xvi).
In spite of the fact that he married twice, Sa’di did not refer to the gentle sex heavily in his writings, especially that he had not very cheerful life with his second spouse, after being caught by the crusades. Sa’di had a son and a daughter. Unfortunately, the son died in his infancy, while the girl later on married the well-known Hafiz. (M.D xvii- xviii).
Unlike Khayyam, Sa’di was laureate poet especially that the king Saad Atabak helped in his learning career. In return, Sa’di revealed his thankfulness through compliment of the emperor.
By 1291, Sa’di reached the winter of his life, but his spiritual presence remained for many Muslims, to the extent that they established a tomb of Sadiya in Shiraz, which was the destination of numerous travelers (M.D xviii).
Bustan and Golestan are the most prominent works of Sa’di. The ones bear moralistic qualities. Sa’di who mastered both prose and poetry finished his book Bustan in 1257. The book was known by his reasonable and idealistic aspects. Borrowing a little of the mystical experiences within it. The Persians saw it as “a unique volume in the whole canon of Persian literature”. The latter consists of ten chapters written in the form of tales and anecdotes. It was dedicated to the people of Shiraz. Regarding its impact, many authors tried to reproduce a copy of the original work; yet, no one could achieve this realization as Sa’di did (Katouzian 26-28).
Golestan the most delightful of Saadi’s works has been defined as “practical wisdom” if compared with the book of Bustan. Golestan is much enlarged and it is written with the first person singular for some of the time. The book is transcribed with “mossaj” style, the most embellished form of prose with occasional meters, rhymes, and semi rhymes. This style cannot be acquired easily. The introduction of the book narrated how Sa’di wrote it in which he was very depressed, and was aided by one of his friends. The element that gave the poet a specific impression to finish it in a short time (an approximate of 6 months). However, many critics claimed that the plot was a fiction ( Katouzian 29-33).
Dealing with the boundaries between English and Persian literatures, Persian literature crossed it easily. Evidently, this is often seen in the various translations to English and other
European languages. For example, Golestan was the first masterpiece which was translated to Germany by Gulistan. The one is considered as guide book to European pupils. Then, the translation induced the attention of Adam Oliaryos to translate Bustan. Years later, the influence moved toward Emerson. Nevertheless, Sa’di lost his prestige with the coming of Hafiz (Roozbeh 285).
3 - Hafiz
Shams eddin Mohammad, identified most frequently as Hafiz. Hafiz was born in 1315, in the province of Shiraz, where he mastered the Quranic verses. In fact, he acquired the title of Hafiz, because he memorized the Quran in early stage of his life. ‘The tongue of hidden’ and ‘interpreter of secrets’ are among the epithets that designate Hafiz. The collaboration of theology with the mystical aspects of Sufism made his poetry of certain uniqueness (Salami 1).
Being instructed under Sheikh Attar, allowed Hafiz further fortunes if compared with his colleagues, since his teacher was emphasizing on both the body and mental capacities. A point worthy to be mentioned is that, Hafiz had never been austere in his opinion, when judging the dervish habit. He surely learned this flexibility from his instructor (Abdul Majid 6-7).
Hafiz delivered his lifetime under the sponsorship of different leaders to whom he availed as poet in his all career. Starting by Shah Ishak, a governor of Shiraz, who was arrested by Moberezuddien Mohammed Mozzafar, and executed away from the town. After his death, the patronage was prolonged by Shah Suja, Mozzafar’s son. Though, there were occasional disparagements with Hafiz about poetical concerns. Later on, the master charged him with heresy (Bell 10-11).
Unlike the previous masters, Kawamuddin, the vizier engaged Hafiz in school to teach his disciples lessons in Quran. In parallel, Sultan Ahmed Ilkhani suggested him to be his court poet; he refused, but many lines of his ghazel valorize him, entitling him” Khan the son of khan “or “emperor the son of emperor”. Hafiz was renowned beyond his native land, his reputation extended to the kingdoms of Bengal and Deccan. Many argued that he was invited by the king Ghyasuddin Purbi, but Hafiz expressed his regret (Bell 12-13).
Socially speaking, Hafiz married Saadi’s daughter and had a son. Remarkably, Hafiz was close to his wife as well as his son. This is very evident in his elegiac poems after their death. Hafiz died during the 14th C, there is no exact day of his death, but on his shrine, it is marked 1388 where he was buried at the garden of Mossala near Shiraz (Bell 15, 18).
According to Avery and Heath-Stubbs, the poems of Hafiz were viva voce; his heritage was passed from one generation to another by reciting it orally (2)Many historiographers maintained that Hafiz did not have much time to gather his poems in a divan.
Though, his disciple Syed Kasim -al -Anwar was responsible for assembling the whole divan (Abdul Majid 23-24).
Hafiz bridged the distance between the “East” and the “West”, centuries before. The Romans pioneered the translation of the poems of Hafiz in 1680. In 1771, the influence moved to the British Sir William Jones, this translation achieved a great impact later on.
Then, several translations under the Latin influence were published like the one of J. Richardson in 1774. Indeed, the poems of Hafiz were targeted by many western poets, especially of the Romantic era in which it attracted the attention of Byron, Swinburne, and others (Behbahani 2-3).
The fame of Hafiz extended to the Victorian era, at that time, more than eighty translations were made. The celebrity of Hafiz moved beyond Europe and reached America.
The well- known Ralph W Emerson was influenced by the German version of Goethe and published his own translation in 1838. Moreover, extra translations of his Ghazels were added to his works (Behbahani 3).
It is worthy to shed some lights on the German poet, Goethe who was already influenced by the translation of Josef Von Hammer of Hafiz poems. Goethe produced his own translation, and in the same time reduced the distance between the two Abrahamic religions (Christianity and Islam). The translations served as a vehicle to the oriental world, involving a depiction of Jesus face. Regarding the Germanic history of literature, one can notice how Sufi literature infiltrated into the German one by the intermediation of Hafiz, especially in West Ostlisher Divan where he renowned him as “a seeker of truth spiritual on spiritual level”, and described him as “his twin” in one of his poems (Mahdavi & Sajjadi 2234-2235).
4 - Rumi: A Short Biography
Rumi is also along the greatest poets of Sufi literature, if not the one who headed the list in both eastern and western world. According to Boostni and Moghddas, Rumi was born on September 30, 1207 in Balkh, a city of Khorasan, particularly in Bakhsh (Tajikistan now).
Baha -al –Din, Rumi’s father was a cleric, judge, and dutiful mystic (77). However, they flee Balkh, because of the attacks of Mongol armies; they did not stabilize in one place: they went to Samarkand, Damascus, and finally in Konya; the heart land of Anatolia (Barks xxi)
After his death, Baha-al Din left his Ma’arif text to Rumi, the latter analyzed it with
Burhan-al Din Mahaqqiq; a student of Baha before, along with other writings of Attar and Sanai. Being influenced by such mystic poets, Rumi tried to achieve chillas; fasting in an isolated place during 40 day. This made Rumi ready for his first mystical conversation with
Shams of Tabriz. The thrilling event that unified Shams with Rumi was exceptional, because it influenced later on Rumi’s writings. Shams existence with Rumi did not last for so long, and he left in unusual circumstances. Because of Shams absence, Rumi felt sad for his mate soul and fluently delivered the poetry without any preparation (Barks xxi-xxii).
Rumi married Ghowhar Khatun, and got two sons Sultan Valad and Aladdin. Unfortunately, Ghowhar died early. Then, he remarried Kira Khatun, and had a son Mozzafar and a daughter Maleke from her. After the rupture of Shams, Rumi found another friend
Houssem Chalabi who helped him in writing the Masnavi. Finally, Rumi died in December 13, 1273(Barks xxii-xxiii).
Rumi Literary and Moral Heritage
Four main works should be highlighted among Rumi’s writings. First of all, Divan
Shams or Divan I Kabir which is a group of poems named after his soul mate Shams. Divan Shams is a composition of 4000 couplets that took the second position among Rumi’s works. Second, Fihi Ma Fihi [“In It Is What It Is”]: gathered by Rumi’s students and includes Rumi’s dialogues and discourses. Then, “The Letters”: a series of letters from Rumi to his countrymen, family, and friends gathered in book entitled Makatib. Lastly, Masnavi the most eminent work of Rumi, it consists of 26000 couplets divided in six sections. All of whom discuss the lower sensual aspiration, knowledge, and the elimination of the ego, in order to recognize God’s presence (Karimnia et.al 8536).
Rumi’s poems are circulating everywhere and every when, his couplets bear both a literary aesthetic verses as well as a moralistic legacy. In fact, Rumi’s works seek to renovate the ordinary creatures to Godlike humans. It attempts to look for the perfection of human beings through a high devoutness, values, and loyalty. By doing so, it stimulates in the individuals the skill to respect one another, love each other, and acting properly (Valerievna) According to Ghabool view, Peace is prominent in Rumi‘s considerations. The term indicates a co- existence between all religions, and more tolerance in the interfaith dialogues.
The core of this dogma is based undoubtedly on God determination, love, and justice (703). Love is vital in Rumi’s poems, it is used in different contexts, but generally it designates “a constellation of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness”. In Rumi teaching, love represents the close union between the divine and human being in which it is regarded frequently as the reason behind creation (699).
Rumi’s impact infiltrated western lands too, the British orientalists had always considered his works as pillar to their own, as a result, the western writers started to translate his works. For example, Joseph Von Hammer and Rückert are among the earliest translators of Rumi’s works. Reedhouse who mastered the Turkish language was the first to initiate a translation of Masnavi in English. Later, Nicholson with his analytical interpretation of Masnavi made it the most accurate translation. In addition to Colman Barks who achieved a great commercial success in America with his version of the Masnavi (Karimnia et.al 85368539).
Conclusion
All in all, it is evident that Sufism has been influenced by other religions and cultures. Indeed, its first period was under the effect of Christian mysticism, but lately it was directed by Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths. Many Orientalists like Nicholson, Corbin, and Massignon confirmed that Islam was the source of Sufism, though one cannot deny the contribution of other civilizations in its flourishment. In other words, Islamic mysticism can be defined as the sum total of all religious mysticism, and is therefore a multiplicity within unity.
Despite the fact that Christian mysticism has its brighter side vis-à-vis the unification of God, and claiming his centralization, it goes beyond all beliefs, since it has its pagan element considering Jesus as divine. Yet, the notion seems to be more adequate by reason of “all paths lead to his presence”.
The universal aspects of Sufism are generally crystalized regarding its spiritual wisdom, while it exists some principles of local Sufi orders that give a negative impression to the path. These principles deviated from the main doctrine, and should be omitted to avoid any stereotypes that provide a bad vision to Sufism. However, Godlike quality of men is not considered as a heresy, but it indicates the one who seeks perfection and serves as a typical model when desiring the right path to God.
Unfortunately, nowadays the west is able to understand the Sufi concepts more than the oriental realm do. This is remarkably noticed in the various translations from Persian to other European languages. Obviously, such respect of the oriental culture is shown in the works and interests of the postmodernist Goethe. Hence, the idea that appreciating a work in his native language seems old fashioned, because many works especially the Sufi poetry gained in translations.
Sufi literature in general offered a great deal to the philosophical and mystical texts in the Islamic civilization. Thus, it discussed interesting topics that bridge the distance between the universe and eternity, mainly because of the spiritual vacuum and the increase of the materialistic life. As result, Sufi literature played the role of morality and idealism in which it payed little attention to race and gender.
Chapter Two
American Sufism: Turning to the Core of Spirituality
Introduction
Sufism in the west becomes a hotly debated topic. Generally, the so-called Sufism is always used as synonymous to Islam, since it goes hand in hand with it: whenever Islam reached a community in the world, Sufi movements are omnipresent. Hence, Sufism is considered as a momentous vehicle to the spread of Islam along other mercantile activities in the past.
Historically, Sufism was the crux of the Moorish culture in Spain. This fact is very evident in the writings of the Andalusian philosopher and poet Ibn- al Arabi who was probably, the first to put the imprint of Sufism in the west. According to Llewellyn Vaughan – Lee, courtly love that embodied European romantic literature was extracted from the troubadours that were influenced by Sufi Arabic poetry.
After the collapse of Andalusia, Llewellyn Vaughan –Lee stated that Sufism stagnated until the flourishment of the Ottoman Empire where it extended heavily in many parts of eastern European communities, especially the Balkans. Though, the coming of the Bosnian war and its aftermath caused damaging loses; a large number of Sufis were killed at that era.
This chapter sheds light on the way whereby Sufism with its philosophical and literary aspects was able to penetrate into the western lands in general, and Uncle Sam boundaries in particular.
I- Sufism in Europe and North America
The tendency toward Sufism in the west remains of a great significance. In fact, in addition to the believers who are generally attracted by the Sufi ideology, a score of studies are conducted over the subject. Oriental studies of the mid-18th century affirmed that European awareness of some Sufi figures of the medieval period seemed insufficient for the colonial power to be acquainted with the atmosphere of the third world countries.These orientalists were pioneers to investigate the origins of Sufism. Though, there were those who claimed its relation to Islam such as Nicholson and Massignion.Others affirmed the incompatibility between the two such as Tholuck and Palmer. Scholars like Lt James William Graham suggested a clear closeness between Judaism and Christianity Vs Islam and Sufism in the sense that Sufism is continuity to the existence of Islam i.e. “Sufism was the new Testament of Islam” (Khalil & Sheikh 355, 357).
Historically, the colonial persecution pressed native inhabitants to quite their motherlands. Many Arabs fled theirs countries and went to the west. In their journey, they brought with them their religion that was often cohesive to Sufism. As a result, “Euro Sufism” and the emphasis in this dimension of Islam became of particular status; scholars like René Guenon and Frithjof Schuon inclined to be ‘‘a Sufi Perennialists” (Westerlund 4).
Among the factors that led to the infiltration of Sufism in United States is the nature of its policy. According to Hermansen, the American Dream helped in the domestication of this concept. Contextually, one can add the increase of the feelings of individuality and the tentative modes of spiritualty. Moreover, the freedom of religion in the U.S. and the Bill of Rights allowed an easy penetration of Sufism within the U.S society (Westerlund 4).
Another reason behind the enculturation of Sufism in America’s main lands, as
Hermansen suggested is the nature of the U.S as a multi religious, multi ethnics, and multicultural society, mainly immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. However, these Sufis did not represent a remarkable intellectual degree. Nevertheless, European Sufis denote a well-educated level in its scholarship. Hermansen acknowledged the process of globalization whereby all people are unified in a single society, among its sides the monopolization of English language that permitted the communication in the entire world. For instance, the production of great deal of Sufi works in English becomes very fashionable. Together with the mass media and social networks which endorsed a speedy access to these Sufi groups. Finally, Hermansen argued that above sexism, Sufism was successful in living into the core of the American social life when advocating the idea of the equality between man and women (Westerlund 7, 10).
Early in history, Sufism reached the extreme southern parts of Europe including Bosnia, Albania and southern parts of Russia. Nowadays, the number of Sufis in Europe dramatically increased as a result of the immigration from Islamic countries and the need of jobs, especially North Africans in France and southern Asians in Britain. Nevertheless, the majority of refugees were born in Europe. In terms of conversions, Sufism attracted many Europeans who were in fact Islamicists. However, a few converted to Islam “Sufism”. In spite of their few numbers, those Europeans are mindful of this esoteric background and are generally, considered as delegates of Sufism in Europe (Westerlund 13-14).
As it was pointed out before, the existence of Sufism in Europe was the result of the establishment of different types of Islam there. On this basis, one can distinguish three “forms” of Islam. First of all, those secularized persons who kept their superficial religious identity just for social motives, mainly the Iranians who fled the Khomeinian Republic of Islam. There are also those Islamists who belong to very sensitive sect. Yet, they ceased to be extremists, even though they kept exploring the importance of Islam as accurate canon of life or as governmental organism (Leonard 185-186).
With respects to these two forms, the Muslims mainstream are indeed the overwhelming majority in Europe, they are generally guided by the different behaviors of their motherlands, and are not much influenced by the secularization of Europe. All these forms can indeed bear Sufi ideology within, since Sufism embraces both branches of Islam; however, Sufis are generally classified in Muslim Mainstream form (Leonard 187-188).
According to Westerlund, the role of Sufis becomes of great significance in European social life in recent years. For example, in the medical milieu, the sheikhs of different Sufi orders are working in cooperation with health centers and clinics in order to achieve spiritual therapy. Furthermore, those sheikhs play an important educative function in instructing teenagers of different levels, especially concerning ethical and moral issues (16, 18).
During the beginning of the 20th C, an interesting intellectual discipline was reputed in Europe. Towering figures who were greatly influenced by the Sufi ideologies built the primary principles of the school. The school was well known by the “Perennial Philosophy” or “Sophia Perennis”. The expression was coined decades before in several contexts. This section spots some of the light on the perennialist school of thought that found by René Guénon. Moreover, it tackles the significance and the impact of this school on the image of Sufism in the western world (Fabbri).
Like the word spirituality, Perennial Philosophy is a newly adopted word to the western world. According to Nasr view, Perennial Philosophy appeared for the first time in a dialogue with Leibniz, during the Renaissance where they required him about the philosophy he is following, he answered “the Perennial philosophy”, later facts proved that he himself had took the expression from the Italian Agustinus Stenchius of the 16th C (Markwith 43).
In one of his discussions that are related to the subject, Oldeadow maintained that the adjective perennial refers to an element that existed before and still existing, an element that is perpetual for all times. In fact, “the perennial wisdom concerns all that is most profound and common to all great religions. That truth, all that truths that lie at the heart of all religions and which have always and always will lie at the heart of all religions” Lings completed.
As a matter of fact, Suhrawardi and other Persian philosophers were in the picture centuries ago dealing with the subject of perennial philosophy. Later, the expression was translated into Latin literally as “Prudentia Priscus” (Nasr). Yet, it was not put in practice until the reawakening of the school by many French scholars like René Guenon who is considered as the founding father of the philosophy in modern era along with Ananda Coomaraswany, Frithjof Schuon and others (Fabbri). Nasr stated that England was involved gradually into the perspective, especially with the publications of Aldous Huxley where he emphasized the resemblances between the almost religions, gathering quotations from their sacred texts to demonstrate its analogous construction.
In the United States, Sufism took different forms. Statistics affirmed that the number of Sufis in America is increasing if compared to Europe. More than that, the seeming of having a large amount of Sufis in America more than in Europe is correct; after all, Americans are fascinated with Sufism due to its traditions of love and peace which are often embodied in American art and literature. Therefore, the International Seminars on Sufi Courses of Prose in Philadelphia, California, and New York helped in crystalizing the phenomenon profoundly. The whirling dervishes and the Sama dance appeal by tourists as well as spiritual seekers (Acim 66).
Dealing with the spiritual seekers, the period following the WW II in U.S. was opulent. Regarding the Roosevelt’s policy, a relaxed economic and social situation marked the period, mainly with the technological advancements that prospered during the 1950’s and
1960’s. TV and other electric equipment were in vogue at that time. What has been happening in America during the 1929-1960 was in fact unique in the sense that the nation became a superpower with immense capacities in the production of vehicles, steel, fabrics, and electric machines (Farber & Bailey 5).
It is also important to emphasize the unusual birth of the “baby boomers” after the WW II which later became very intellective, and hold decision-making positions. More, it is worth to say that this generation was a mixture of various ethnic and racial groups.
Consequently, different multi ethic and multicultural groups personified the scene as Rachel Prunchno pointed out (149, 151). Obviously, many cultural and religious movements emerged such as the Beat movement and the Hippies. These movements were deeply influenced by the eastern philosophy and poetry (Hart 63).
According to Hart’s view, the unrestricted privileges given to the Americans at that time, the rebellious movements of segregation, and feminist voices permitted to change the social customs of the nation. All helped in more engagement of eastern religions in American culture. Therefore, the religious reforms of the era allowed its arrangement: Americans started to be less interested in the prejudices of eastern faiths and culture. Another critical aspect to consider is the restriction of the Quota Act of 1965, migration affected the American belief, especially with the coming of spiritual leaders whom Americans start to adopt mystical philosophies (64, 66).
In reality, Zen Buddhists, Hindu disciples, and Sufi clerics were the concerns of many Beats first and the Hippies in the sixties. Transcendentalism and early literary romantic movements were also influenced by these mystical norms. As such, American literature contains significant norms of eastern cultures. In fact, poets like Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Whiteman were recognized as the Persians of Cambridge (Hart 66- 67).
The impressiveness of these cultural movements toward love and wisdom allowed more tolerant communication with other religions. Spiritual experiences were frequent among their practices and rituals. Hence, the New Age generation is often known as the generation of spiritual seekers (Waston & Beck 264).
…bring with it an expanded consciousness, an acute awareness of psychic realm and a deeper understanding of the purpose of living …it is awakening people of sufficient development to the reality of one world, one creator, one Universal Truth_ the eternal truth that there is no death and that love is the unifying force of cosmic world. (qtd. in Waston & Beck 264 )
Islamic scholar ships quickly returned into a serious arena of study in America. Unlike the European studies, the American studies of Islam tend to compare the different norms of religion as well as Islamic mysticism, most notably after the upturn of Muslims in American lands with the establishment of Committee on the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies in 1986. Not only Muslims were interested in such field, many Africans were converted to Islam and adopted the Sufi beliefs (Hermansen 28, 32).
Influenced by the traditionalist school, American Perennialism also contributed to the approach. It is Sayyad Hussein Nasr who symbolizes the propensity of Sufism with particular analysis of the phenomena in this school of thought, Nasr’s interpretation seemed very adequate for the Americans; however, it was weakened by some uncertainties within the
Islamic context. Emphasizing the divine unity of religion, Nasr and his followers like Morris, Chittick, and Murata played a significant role in the arena along non-Muslim but Islamicists intellectuals like Huston Smith and Victor Danner who was converted to Islam later on (Hermansen 34- 35).
II- Oriental Sufism Vs American Transcendentalism: Comparative Study
A huge literature was written about the way in which oriental thoughts were
fascinating the American literature decades ago. The first chapter highlighted the last effects of Persian poetry and prose on western writers. Not only their way of writings, but also their private life and its impact. For instance, the modernist Ezra Pound named his son Omar Pound after Omar Khayyam as well as the great Khayyamian occurrence in U.S. This section investigates common aspects between Sufism and Transcendentalism.
Beyond the shadow of doubt, Transcendentalism is not only a literary movement that became visible in the late 18th C. In fact, it is also related to the way people think coupled with religious effort that stimulated in New England, such complex shift contains indeed mystical ideas mixed with metaphysical thoughts, even Thoreau claimed its arduousness of understanding in his entry of journal in March 1853
The secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Science requests me… to fill the blank against certain questions, among which the most important one was what branch of science I was specially instead in….I felt that it would be to make myself laughing-stock of the scientific community to describe them that branch of science which specially interests me, inasmuch as they do not believe in a science which deals with higher law. So I was obliged to speak to their condition and describe to them that poor part of me which alone can understand. The fact is a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot. Now that I think of it, I should have told them at once that I was a transcendentalist. That would have been the shortest way of telling them what they would not understand my explanations. (Wilson 2)
Likewise, the so called “transcendentalists” were not structured in such manner they depicted a literary movement or demonstrating a formal beliefs. Instead, they worked autonomously asserting on some notions of ‘‘man’s place in the world”. In fact, at the very beginning, Transcendentalism started to shape the form of fresh religion based on Platonian and other prehistoric philosophies. Then, the introduction of Emerson’s essay the Nature revolved it into more rational framework (Wilson 2-3).
The social developments of the time allowed more freedoms to the citizens, and involved radical changes. Women’s suffrage movement and anti-slavery movement enhanced social equality, and negated gender differences. The fact that led many to appreciate the religious affiliation of Transcendentalism, especially that those transcendentalists opposed the pro-slavery legislations in different manners, and many supported such abolitionist groups (Manzari 1973).
Historically, American Transcendentalism witnessed social, political, and religious developments that influenced its way of thinking. Religious activities and the tendency toward eastern culture permitted less tolerance to many secularized groups that affect negatively the society, mainly those people with lower income. Additional groups like Temperance movement, which protested against “the body as Temple”, and corrupted deeds were among the transcendentalists interests (Manzari 1974).
American Transcendentalism was, in effect, a ramification of European Romanticism whereby they shared the same concerns in sensations and spirituality. Not only this, but also guarantying an esteem for humankind, valorizing the human being, mainly after the Darwinist Theory of the time. Actually, the movement flourished as a response to the materialistic life of the late 18th, early 19th C and the promotion of spiritual emptiness (Wilson 7).
One might clearly notice the remarkable tenets between American transcendentalism and oriental Sufism that can be summarized in different points:
Man: an Outlet to the Divine
According to Golkhosravi, mysticism; the core of both transcendental and Sufi ideologies, tends to treat the divine and the human being as one. Unlike many religions that detach the two, considering them as separate entities. In fact, this union is recognized through an imaginary concept within the soul, by the evaporation of man in order to seek God, and attaining self-recognition. Moreover, the representation of the Divine is incarnated within the human sensations of mercy, friendliness, and gentleness. The two ideologies argue that “Man is no longer a slave of God”, since their relationship is based on love. Therefore, God is always referred as “the Divine Beloved” or “the Great Camerado”, mainly in the texts of Rumi and Whitman as two giant figures representing the two given ideologies.
The Spiritual Journey
Among the frequent themes discussed in transcendentalist and Sufi texts, travel, especially the emblematic one in which writers lay emphasis on the inward pilgrimage that one can reach regardless to the geographical boundaries. In his journal (march21, 1840), Thoreau highlighted the idea of traveling spiritually “Let us migrate interiorly without intermission; and pitch our tent each day nearer the western horizon.” For instance, a trip needs a vehicle to circulate far away from the actual locations, while the travel of mind requires a sincere intention to be displaced into new locus (Wilson 144).
Simple Life vs Materialism
Taking into consideration the prosperity that America witnessed during the early 19th C, many transcendentalists decided to live a humble life and escape the materialistic fortune. Such themes are often characterized in Thoreau writings, whereby he tried to run over his desires and necessities. In his first chapter of Walden “Economy”, Thoreau claimed that “Most of luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only indispensable, but positive hindrances to the evaluation of human kind”( Wilson 182).
Asceticism in the other hand is of great importance in the Sufi circles. According to Far and Bozorgi, prophetic hadiths and Quranic verses often discussed these ascetics who ignore the comfortable life. This passage is from Nahj al-Balaghah depicting austere men:
The God fearing in this world are the people of distinction. Their speech is to the point, their dress moderate and their gait is humble… The greatness of the Creator is seated in their hearts, and so, everything else appears small in their eyes… Their bodies are thin, their needs are scanty, and their souls are chaste… The world aimed at them, but they did not aim at it… He passes the
night in fear and rises in the morning in joy… You will see his simple hopes, his shortcomings few, his heart fearing; his spirit contended, his meal small and simple, his religion safe, hi desires dead and his anger suppressed. (Nahj al- Balaghah 108- 109)
Death
According to Fehm’s view, death in the Islamic mystic tradition is a salvation. This redemption is painful, and destined upon everybody (11). In most Sufi texts, death indicates the one which will take the human into the “Abode of Light” as Rumi advocates. In her book I am Wind, You Are Fire, Schimmel itemized that death helps in the elimination of all immoral conducts that deprave the heart (12).
Die before you die, for every act of shedding off a quality is a small death ; every sacrifice for the sake of others is another small death whereby the individual gains new spiritual value; thus; in a series of deaths, the soul rises to immortality or to a level of spiritualization that it has never dreamed of. (Schimmel 157-158)
Similar to Sufi ideology, transcendentalists clash with the idea that death is the termination of life. According to them, death is an aspect of a regular process that helps in change of nature and the transcendence of the soul to the eternity. Hence, their texts often discussed themes of the generation after death (Wilson 170).
III- The Impact of Rumi in Western World: Versions and Translations
The previous sections examine how Sufism was enculturated into the western shores, and the way its ideology shaped the exclusive American intellectual movement of the time, from the historical and ideological point of views. The left sections analyze the impact of Masnavi, the most influential Sufi heritage in America through its vast translations and versions from a literary point of view.
The pseudo of Rumi of 13th C had and still mingling around the world; his six volumes book of the Masnavi remained of grand significance until modern days. According to Karimnia, Ebrahimezade, and Jafari, Sir William Jones was the first to introduce former couplets of the Masnavi in English during a sermon in one of the Asiatic Associations (1791). Later attempts to translate it in French by Jack Fan Walenburg rapidly failed (8536).
Years later, German orientalists became fascinated by the Persian poetry, particularly the works of Hafiz and Rumi. Joseph Van Hammer Purgstall, and his student, Friedrish Rückert tried to personify Rumi’s soul in a German physique, as a result their translations gained certain fame and many poets were eager to write similar works. Not only poets but clerics and thinkers like Karl Marx, Hegel and William Hastie were also attracted by Rückert translation. In his “Encyclopedie der Philosphischen Wissenschaften dim Grundrisse”, Hegel quoted about twenty one poems of Rumi and denoted him as “the excellent Jalal-ud din Rumi” (Schimmel 310).
Redhouse, Nicholson, Whinfield, and Gupta’s translations are attempts to duplicate the spiritual couplets of Rumi to the English audience. However, Redhouse translation covered only one volume, and has frequently keen to criticism since it did not reflect Rumi’s accurate meanings. Until the 1920’s, Whinfield’s work “Masnavi i Manavi, the spiritual couplets of Mawlalna Jalalu‘d – Din Muhaammed I Rumi” was regarded as the preeminent translation ever made. Yet, Nicholson efforts were more acknowledged. In fact, this British orientalist had translated the whole work successfully. Though, his six book collections have been judged for its word for word translation, and his inability to interpret Persian idioms (El- Zein 73).
In the other hand, Gupta succeeded in understanding the Persian background, his translation was rephrased and accompanied with some comments. Further efforts were made in order to reproduce this masterpiece; however, most of the attempts were linked to Nicholson’s translation, and generally are only seen as passages and selections from the entire work (Karimnia, Ebrahimzade, and Jafari 8538).
According to El- Zein, academic translations of the Masnavi attracted other scholars.
In 1968, Arthur Arberry in the footsteps of his teacher Nicholson translated selections from Rumi entitled Divan Rumi. However, his work was not published until his death in 1979 (73).Anne Marie Schimmel’s attraction to Islamic literature and Sufism pushed her to include some of her personal passages in her book The Triumph Sun from the Masnavii. Regarding Rumi’s impact on this German scholar, Schimmel wrote also her This is Love, a booklet that contains extracts from the Masnavi. Later on, Chittick published a book entitled Sufi Path of Love: Spiritual Teaching of Rumi which is in fact a mixture of his Divan Rumi and Mathnawi (74).
Based on Nicholson’s translation, Kabir along with Camille Helminisky rephrased the Masnavi with aesthetic language. Karminia maintained that the work of Helminisky was separated into many selections. For instance, “Rumi: daylight” from the two first volumes, while “Jewels of Remembrance” selections were picked out from the third and fourth books (8539).
In an attempt to interpret Rumi’s poetry and introduce it to the public, Coleman Barks and John Moyne with the help of Arberry’s translation tried to bring to light selections from the Mathnawi. It is important to note that this work is a unique version. Undeniably, the Esssential Rumi gave to the oriental mystic of the 13th century extra fame, considering him as the most favorable poet in the United States (El- Zein 75).
According to Azedibougar and Patton, Barks was able to translate considerable selections from Rumi’s greatest work in seven years, however its publications were separated into four books: Delicious Laughter (1989), One – hand Basket Weaving (1991) accompanied with the Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion, months later. Finally, his best- selling book in 1995 the Essential Rumi (173).
Observing the Essential Rumi, Coleman Barks explained:
John Moyne and I try to be faithful to the images, the tone as we hear it, and the spiritual information coming through. We have not tried to reproduce any of the dense musicality of the Persian originals. It has seemed appropriate to place Rumi in the strong tradition of American free verse. (qtd in El-Zein 75)
Ironically, his unfamiliarity with Persian culture and language did not prevent him from introducing the “Rumi spirit” to the American society, in spite of the political conflicts between Iran and USA at that time. Probably, Barks was the one who was completely aware of the ‘spiritual hanger’. He tried to include the oriental mystical perceptions in American dress that suit the need of his people. His interpretation was therefore a transfer of a deep meaning of mystical dimensions to the western culture (Amiri, Araghi & Farjeni 43).
However, Coleman Barks has always been criticized for being skeptical to ‘the fidelity principal’, falsifying some evidences about Rumi, his culture, and his inability to convey the exact meaning of the Masnavi. Hassan Lahouti denounced Barks for neglecting the classical literature, Islamic conceptions, and making Rumi typically American for commercial purposes (Azadibougar & Patton 177). Arguing against such opponent view, Steiner affirmed that: “fidelity is not literalism or any technical device for rending ‘spirit’”. In other words, Barks did not distort the original work; it is rather a kind of adaptation (Amiri et al. 43).
VI - The Rumi Phenomenon in United States
According to Richards and Omidivan, the U.S. counterculture movement of the sixties induced a particular consideration to Rumi, especially “the young generation”, and liberal groups in city centers. At that time, Rumi’s life and poems were widely regarded as a typical American legacy, and rarely understood from an Islamic/ Sufi prospective (251).
With the publication of Harper Collins’ the Soul of Rumi, Rumi started to be introduced to the Americans as an oriental poet and a cleric whose main emphasis is the spiritual love. A topic that suits almost American readers. Paradoxically, this Iranian poet, despite his religious background gained the interest of large population of the American readership even after the 9/11 events, and Qaeda prejudices (Richards & Omidivan 251).
According to El- Zein, the prominence given to religion by Americans is a key factor to discuss. From ancient times, the American thirst of religion was very common. In his book, Harold Bloom, explained how Americans are verging on ‘recycling’ the sacred conducts that they encounter in order to realize their own path. The aptitude given to Americans to imitate spiritual creeds in their native context is broadly observed in the reproduction of Rumi poems, which made the Americans ambitious whenever tackling American spirituality (82-83).
In the Silk Road Dance Company press statement (2005), Laurel Gray argued:
As one familiar with the culture and history of both East and West, I feel it is imperative to use art to build a bridge of understanding between Americans and the Islamic World. Instead of falling prey to a false notion of a “clash of civilizations” we need to remember that East and West have interacted for millennia, often crossing cultures with positive results. (qtd in Winegar 662)
According to Winegar’s view, the quotation indicates the attraction of the west to Islamic art, and saw a necessity to recover modern cross-cultural relations (662).
This press release advocated more projects to involve the linking of the reciprocal artistic consumptions between the two worlds and promoting harmony. For instance, The Philadelphia Society of Art, Literature and Music involved a performance of Sufi music in which its lyrics were characteristically inspired from Rumi poems. Evidently, such American projects recognized Rumi’s oriental existence, and acclaimed his poems “Although he was a devout Muslim, Rumi became a ‘Sufi’ and…although he was a devout Muslim, [Rumi] embraced all people without distinction” (Winegar 666).
Winegar confirmed that the concentration in religious affairs led to conflicts, while when people deal with culture, they are more likely to see artistic understanding. It is clear here that Rumi is used as an ultimate form of Islam (666).
…While Islam is now seen by many as the enemy of western civilization (And vice- versa), there exists an alternative to be found in Rumi’s peaceful path called ‘Sufism’, within Islam, whose message may prove to be an elegant solution to a – priori problems of a dangerous and unstable co – existence that people of all nations now face. (qtd in Winegar 666)
In an interview with Coleman Barks, Andrew Lawter, a broadcaster in “The Sun Magazine” demanded about the incredible pleasing of Rumi’s poetry, and how such poet became the interest of large number of the American audience. Barks in return responded that Rumi’s masterpieces are not first handed for the Americans; they are therefore similar to their domestic writers’ works Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, since those writings treat more or less the widespread esoteric discourses and the ascetic ideas. He Added, the American reception to a “Fluid yet Formal, lyric and narrative” is extensive and his poetry is a combination of Miguel de Cervantes, John Milton, James Joyce, John Coltrane, and Robin Williams’s texts which are often compatible with the “sense of humor”.
Questioning Barks view about Rumi, Lawter speculated if Rumi is held as poet or as a mystic according to the Tennessee rhymester. Barks answered that Rumi for him indicates both a Sufi who tend to enlighten the universe, and an unusual versifier. He even accredited his mystical poems since words are not enough to understand the spiritual dimension unless one experiences it.
The reception of Rumi poetry has been often explained due to three main factors: the first covers the stylistic values. According to Mojaddedi, Rumi’s words attracted American audience, because it speaks to readers directly, in seldom use of the pronoun “you”. Its positive tone and imageries allowed more popularity to his works. In the other hand, Barks associated this reception to Rumi’s sense of hilarity and to the amazing ‘imaginative freshness’ (Azedibougar & Patton 175).
According to Ghabool, the spiritual vacuum is also another important push factor that one should take in consideration, regarding to the materialistic demands and uncommon opulence that America lived at that time; readers started enjoying the unique “verbalization” of mystic poems of Rumi. In addition to that, Rumi addressed everybody with his spiritual accent (703).
However, both aspects are not persuasive enough, since there is a huge amount of American literary heritage that bears aesthetic devices. For Rumi spiritual appeal, there are also other Persian and mystic poets that did not attain the same admiration as Rumi did. To clarify Rumi’s fame, one should take in consideration the various translations made whether scholarly or a non-scholarly version. This point is widely discussed whenever mentioning Essential Rumi case, in which the writer tried to adapt Rumi’s “high culture” to a “popular” one. Coleman Barks himself maintained that “international formal and linguistic changes have been carried out” in this work (Azedibougar & Patton 176). In other words, Barks formed a dissimilar Rumi that boomed the American bookstores, but also a mystical element close to the American culture and which fit the American taste of spirituality.
The Rumi phenomenon stretched beyond the admiration of powerful words, the pseudo of Rumi attracts the nowadays tarock devotees in US, almost tarot and reiki “cards” are referring to Rumi. Quickly Rumi started to occupy a hi-tech domains, in addition to modern American artists be they actors, painters, poets, singers…etc. and which often subordinate Rumi within their creative works. Rumi has been associated also to technological arena. For example, Robert Wilson and Philip Glass formulated a musical comedy under the name of “Monsters of Grace”. This musical comedy is envisioned with 3D glasses and is composed of 114 of Rumi’s poems (Richards & Omidivan 252).
Far away from the arty planet, the American physiotherapist, Deepak Chopra, acknowledged by spiritual remedial skills, used Rumi’s words combined with music in a CD album to cure his passions. Amazingly, Rumi had also joined food matters. A nutrition corporation located found in Plymouth Michigan entitled “Rumi’s passion” dedicated for gluten-free cooking. The latter depend on Rumi Sufi tradition of pureness to acquire “natural and pure eating habits”. This company has very decisive role, especially that large number of Americans encountered digestive illnesses. Otherwise, in nearly major American cities there are cafeterias and restaurants allied to Rumi with particular Turkish and Iranian gastronomy (Richards & Omidivan 525).
Conclusion
The writings of Ibn-al Arabi in Andalusia proved that Sufism survived in the western shores centuries ago. Gradually, it stretched to Southern Europe, Bosnia, and Russia. In the early19th C, colonial powers started investigating the cultural traditions of the colonized people. Quickly, Islamic mysticism became the interest of British orientalists, who conducted serious studies about Sufism. Of course, views differed between those who acknowledged its relation to Islam and those who dismissed it.
Sufism emerged in America due to several elements: migrations from Asia and North Africa, and multiculturalism there led Islamic mysticism to be accessible in U.S. American amendments which admitted the liberty of worshiping gave Sufi path extra privileges to infiltrate in the heart states of the nation. Moreover, the use of “the killer language” as a universal tongue promoted for a huge production of Sufi literature in English. Furthermore, gender equality enhanced the participation of women in the Sufi phenomenon. Lastly, the use of TV and internet made Islamic mysticism very common for the Americans.
In Europe, the existence of Sufism can be explained in terms of the multiplicity of several forms of Islam, which did not prevent Islamic mysticism from its spread; even the secularized category of Muslims comprises Sufi believers. Yet, Sufis are generally classified among the Muslim Mainstream. In addition to their association with the European society, Sufis interacted in health care domains and education by insisting on moralities, ethics, and meditation.
The historical events in U.S. during the sixties allowed more tolerance to Sufism. The social and economic prosperity caused an emotional vacuum. As a result, many cultural and religious groups started to adopt eastern ideologies in order to accomplish such ‘spiritual hanger’. Furthermore, Transcendentalism, the literary American movement shared with Sufism similar notions in which both emphasized on the union with the divine through spiritual travel. Both ideologies call for the perfection of men through good deeds, mercy? and gentleness. Finally, asceticism which is prominent is both dogmas neglect prosperous life.
The impact of Rumi worldwide is traceable to different translations starting from Hommer Purgustal and Rückert. Progressively, Rumi’s works start to attracted academic orientalists like Nicholson who translated the whole six books of the Masnavi, and promoted for other innovative translations. Arberry, Schimmel, and Chittick are scholars whose efforts to translate extracts from the Masnavi are of great value. Later on, Barks and Helminisky rephrased it with an entertainment language, the selections than gained remarkable profits.
The selections of Rumi’s Masnavi by Harper Collins House of Publication introduced for the audience an oriental Rumi. As a result, American sympathized with his religion despite their Muslim anti- feelings. Such poems which reflect Rumi’s soul served as a bridge to reduce the gap between both civilizations. The incredible response to Rumi’s poems returns to three reasons: first, its aesthetic language used in the selections. Second, the need for spiritual motivation which Rumi’s writings cover in unbelievable performance. Last, Coleman Barks translation, which despite its interaction to foreign ideologies kept the American perfume.
Beyond literature, Rumi has been associated to technological domains too. A play intended to be viewed by 3D glasses contains poems of Rumi. In the entertainment centers, reiki and tarots are denoting Rumi in their cards. While some restaurants and cafés are named after Rumi. In medicine, therapists arranged Rumi’s poems in juxtaposition with relaxed music to treat passion
General Conclusion
To sum up, religions interplay and interface everywhere; they are not defined by geographical boundaries or political creeds. This is clearly seen in Sufism in which it was influenced in early stages by many monotheistic religions and other eastern mystical traditions. Sooner, it becomes more dependable due to Islam and its holy book; many studies proved that Quran contributed in the flourishment of this tradition.
Similarities between Christian mysticism and Islamic mysticism are noticeable, especially in terms of divinity, and the unity with the beloved. However, distortion in Jesus religion made its mystical path less reliable if compared by Islamic one, since believers treat Jesus himself as a deity. Yet, their principles are still accepted, because Christianity retained somehow its Semitic roots.
The Sufi ideology has been subject to various judgements. Emphasizing on eschatology and theosophical matters led many critics to accuse Islamic mysticism by paganism. Moreover, those local orders with shaky beliefs contributed negatively to the dogma. However, its attempt to develop a perfect man is often glazed.
The western tendency to Sufism can be understood from a literary point of view too, the various translations of Sufi literature made Islamic mysticism accessible to the whole world in variety of languages. Goethe, Emerson, and Fitzgerald exposed to the western public an oriental civilization through examining spirituality with target techniques. Efforts to introduce another culture for the audience denied the fact which purports that reading a work in a foreign language is less significant.
Sufi literature in general for both realms of the sphere played crucial role in serving instructive lessons and providing moralities. Hence, its mystical compositions allowed additional interpretations for metaphysical texts, and opened a window on Islamic art and culture. Furthermore, its different forms concerning rhymes and verse orders added a beautiful touch to this genre and made it pleasant for readers.
From medieval period, Sufism was the core of Moorish culture, later on; it extended to southern Europe and stagnated after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. With the coming of colonialism, Sufism returned to be significant, especially with the scholarship conducted by British orientalists. The study in fact investigates the culture and the origin of third world countries.
In America, Sufism appeared due to several factors: the existence of multi ethnic and multi-cultural groups afforded a sympathetic view to Islamic mysticism. The globalization process and the supremacy of English language permitted the production of Sufi literature in target languages. Furthermore, gender equality enhanced the participation of women in the Sufi phenomenon. Lastly, the use of mass media and social made Sufism available in different parts of USA.
Remarkably, oriental Sufism and American transcendentalism shared identical characteristics. Transcendental ideology while intensifying the ideas of perfection and the relation between God and man, Transcendentalism came in touch with thoughts of the Sufis. During the sixties, the social and economic opulence that America survived, initiated a spiritual crises. As a result, many cultural and religious groups accepted eastern spirituality and anti- materialism in order to fulfill this emptiness.
Rumi’s influence was identified through several versions and translations, starting from German poets like Hommer Purgustal and Rückert. Progressively, Rumi works begin to attract academic orientalists like Nicholson, Reedhouse, Schimmel and Chittick .The Masnavi quickly gained a lot of acknowledgements, especially with Barks and Helminisky versions which reformulated it into more amusement jargon, the selections than gained remarkable
profits.
After Barks publication of the Essential Rumi, Rumi was introduced for the first time to the American audience as Muslim mystic. His popularity canonized him not only in cultural context, but also offered a tolerant view to Islam later on. The astonishing reception of Rumi’s poems returns to three reasons: first, its aesthetic techniques used in the selections. Second, the need for mystical inspiration, the last is frequently embodied in almost Rumi’s poetry. Finally, Barks version, which promoted enjoyable compositions with the “sense of humor but generally kept the American perfume.
The phenomenon of Rumi has been allied also to medical domains. Physicians used Rumi poems with a calm music as healing against anxiety, cards used in reiki and tarot games referred to Rumi. In high- tech arena, plays are interdentally formed to be viewed with 3D glasses; these operas comprise poems of Rumi. Not surprisingly, restaurants and teashops are named after Rumi.
To conclude, Rumi despite his Islamic and oriental origins gained fame in U.S. The spiritual thirst that America suffered from, allowed the Sufi literature to fulfill this spectrum. By doing so, it represented Islam in a Well-dressed way, in which it re-tainted its false image in the west, and decreased the so called Islamophobia in USA, mainly after the attacks of the twin towering.
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Ghabool, Ehsan. “A Study on Pacifism of Roomi’s Toughts”. International Congress of
Human Sciences in Asian and North African, 10-15 September, 2007: Ankara. Eds.
Zeki Dilek, Mustafa Akbulut, and Zeki Cemil Arda. Ankara: Ataturk Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History Publications, 2008. Print.
D- Dissertations
Ali Arian, Hatam. “The Sufi Element in Emerson and Thoreau”. Diss. University of Pume, 2010. Print.
Jae, Yoo Jeong. “Jesus According to Ibn al –’ Arabi and Christian Scholars”. MA Thesis. American University in Cairo, 2013. Print.
E- Essays
Nasr, Seyyed Hussein. “Spirituality and Science: Convergence and Divergence?”. The Essential Sophia. Eds. Seyyed Hussein Nasr and Katherine O’ Brien. New York:
World Wisdom Online Library, 2006. World Wisdom. Web. 27 Feb. 2018.
F- Websites
Barks, Coleman. “Walking Around in the Heart: Coleman Barks on Rumi, Sensuality and the
Path with No Name”. Interviewee by Andrew Lawler. The Sun Magazine. October
2007: n.p. Web. 03 May. 2018
Lee, Llewellyn Vaughan. “Sufism’s Contribution to the West_ Llewellyn Vaughan Lee”.
Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 04 Dec. 2016. Web. 05. Apr. 2016.
Tun, Tahar. “Seyyed Hussein Nasr_ Perennial Philosophy”. Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 10 Aug. 2016 Web. 15Apr. 2018.
Tun, Tahar. “Seyyed Hussein Nasr_ What is Spirituality?”. Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 09 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2018.
World WisdomInc. “Origins of the Perennial Philosophy School of Thought”. Online video
clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 12 Jan. 2018. Web. 15 Apr. 2018.
G- Course/ Department Websites
Anuzsia, S. The Impact of Sufism Movement in Contemporary India. Sri Lankan University.
30 May. 2016. Web. 18 March. 2018.
Fabbri, Renaud. “Introduction to the Perennialist School”. Religioperennis. org. Religio Perennis, n. d. Web. April 2018.
Pytlick, Michael. Jews and Muslims: A Forgotten History of Coexistence. Oakland University, 12 March. 2015. Web. 14 May.2018.
H- Sacred Text
The Sublime Quran. Ed. Lelah Bakhtiar. Tehran: Library of Islam, 2011. Print.
