Mystic Islam

[Gill Harley]

The last thread in this Islam section has got so political that I thought that I'd start a new one on mystic Islam. I think it would be useful to discuss the spirituality at the heart of Islam, and I would like to start by talking about Sufism and Rumi.

Rumi was a 13th century Persian mystic poet, and I think this is quite a good description of him:

"Rumi is able to verbalize the highly personal and often confusing world of personal/spiritual growth and mysticism in a very forward and direct fashion. He does not offend anyone, and he includes everyone. The world of Rumi is neither exclusively the world of a Sufi, nor the world of a Hindu, nor a Jew, nor a Christian; it is the highest state of a human being--a fully evolved human. A complete human is not bound by cultural limitations; he touches every one of us. Today Rumi's poems can be heard in churches, synagogues, Zen monasteries, as well as in the downtown New York art/performance/music scene." says Shahram Shiva, the author of the book Hush Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi':
http://www.rumi.net/rumi_by_shiva.htm

To start us off, here is a particular favourite of mine from Rumi.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
Where two worlds touch
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.

Perhaps others have some Sufi mystical poems that they'd like to share?

[satay]

namaste Gill,

I don't have any poems or any other articles to share on sufism but please share more...

I know a lot of people in the city I was born in used to go to 'dargaha' a sufi place for worship of what is known as 'peer choudari'. I have done this myself many times. In fact, muslims, sikhs, hindus of the city all go there on Thursdays...it's quite a site to see. It is said that whatever you ask for at this dargaha the peer will grant it to you...

My grandmother used to say that that place was a ruin a long time ago but you should the crowds on Thursdays at this place now!

There is definitely mysticism there.

[Gill Harley]

namaste Gill,

I don't have any poems or any other articles to share on sufism but please share more...

I know a lot of people in the city I was born in used to go to 'dargaha' a sufi place for worship of what is known as 'peer choudari'. I have done this myself many times. In fact, muslims, sikhs, hindus of the city all go there on Thursdays...it's quite a site to see. It is said that whatever you ask for at this dargaha the peer will grant it to you...

My grandmother used to say that that place was a ruin a long time ago but you should the crowds on Thursdays at this place now!

There is definitely mysticism there.

That's interesting, Satay! And even more interesting that the big day is Thursday, Guru Brihaspati's (Jupiter's) day!

I don't know a lot about Sufism but I'd like to, which is partly why I started this thread.

[Gill Harley]

Here is a definition of Sufism from Wikipaedia:

Sufism (Arabic: تصوف, taṣawwuf) is a mystic tradition of Islam. Practitioners of Sufism, known as Sufis, engage in the pursuit of a direct perception of spiritual truth or God, through mystic practices based on divine love. Sufism differs from other branches of Islam in its esoteric rather than exoteric focus.

The term Sufism can be used to describe a diverse range of beliefs and practises. Tariqas (Sufi orders) may be associated with Shi'a Islam, Sunni Islam, other currents of Islam, or a combination of multiple traditions.

Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are now found around the world. In particular, Indonesia, the most populous Islamic nation in the world, was introduced to Islam through Sufism, and Sufi practises and beliefs are evident in mainstream religious life across the country.

Sufism has produced a large body of poetry in Turkish, Urdu and Persian, which notably include the works of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi and Amir Khusro, as well as numerous traditions of devotional dance, such as Sufi whirling, and music, such as Qawwali.

Here is a poem from Amir Khusro who, interestingly, is said to have invented the tablas:

I am a pagan and a worshipper of love: the creed (of Muslims) I do not need;
Every vein of mine has become taut like a wire,
the (Brahman’s) girdle I do not need.
Leave from my bedside, you ignorant physician!
The only cure for the patient of love is the sight of his beloved –
other than this no medicine does he need.
If there be no pilot in our boat, let there be none:
We have god in our midst: the sea we do not need.
The people of the world say that Khusrau worships idols.
So he does, so he does; the people he does not need,
the world he does not need.

[sarabhanga]

Slay Thy Self
from The Secrets of the Self, by Iqbal (1873-1938)


Paradise is for the weak alone,
Strength is but a means of perdition.

It is wicked to seek greatness and glory,
Penury is sweeter than princedom.

Lightning does not threaten the corn-seed:
If the seed become a stack, it is unwise.

If you are sensible, you will be a mote of sand, not a Sahara,
So that you may enjoy the sunbeams.

O thou that delights in the slaughter of sheep,
Slay thy self, and thou wilt have honor!

Life is rendered unstable
By violence, oppression, revenge, and the exercise of power.

Though trodden underfoot, the grass grows up time after time
And washes the sleep of death from its eye again and again.

Forget thy self, if thou art wise!
If thou dost not forget thy self, thou art mad.

Close thine eyes, close thine ears, close thine lips,
That thy thought may reach the lofty sky!

The pasturage of the world is naught, naught:
O fool, do not torment thyself for a phantom!

[ramkish42]

1. Islam is against all poetry, thus this poem is not be considered in Islam
2. Thy Self is different from Thyself. Space makes a lot of difference. I do understand what is the meaning perceived by Shri Sharabhanga on this
3. Paradise is for the weak alone, Strength is but a means of perdition is a controversial statement as perdition is abode of Satan in Christianity. English refers this abode alone as perdition - other term for this is Hell. If strong goes to hell and weak goes to heaven, this makes no sense unless it is clarified what is strength and weakness are about

So on and so forth. There is nothing Mystic about Islam

But poems of Omar Khayyam is more mystic for it has nothing to do with Islam

Jai shree Krishna

[Singhi Kaya]

1. Islam is against all poetry, thus this poem is not be considered in Islam
2. Thy Self is different from Thyself. Space makes a lot of difference. I do understand what is the meaning perceived by Shri Sharabhanga on this
3. Paradise is for the weak alone, Strength is but a means of perdition is a controversial statement as perdition is abode of Satan in Christianity. English refers this abode alone as perdition - other term for this is Hell. If strong goes to hell and weak goes to heaven, this makes no sense unless it is clarified what is strength and weakness are about

So on and so forth. There is nothing Mystic about Islam

But poems of Omar Khayyam is more mystic for it has nothing to do with Islam

Jai shree Krishna

You're my pal.

[sarabhanga]

The Koran ONLY exists in Arabic, so unless one understands Arabic one can NEVER properly understand the Koran! Jews and Muslims and most Indian Hindus understand this general fact of scriptural translation (i.e. that it is virtually impossible). The Christian world, however ~ including those of other faiths whose religious sensibilities have been dulled by long immersion in modern western (i.e. European Christian style) culture ~ is stubbornly ignorant of this ancient truth. And the Koran is surely poetic!

[willie]

I have heard this sort of talk a lot. So in other words allah put forth a book that requires people to be able to read a certain language. So in some sense the means the arabic is the only language fit to be on earth, because allah chose it to be the language of the Quran.

Quite interesting considering that mohammad could neither read or write arabic. And the quran is a compilation of text that was spoken by mohammad. As he traveled around giving speeches scribes wrote down every word and later the quran was compiled from these texts. I wonder where these texts are now, it would sure be interesting to read some translations of them. Because this would give a good look at what mohammad was really like and what he talked about, not what somone said the talked about.

[sarabhanga]

Just as Sanskrit is required to truly know the Vedas, and Hebrew is required to truly know the Torah, and both Aramaic and Greek are required to properly understand the Christian Gospel, and Latin is required to fully grasp Catholicism, an understanding of Arabic is likewise necessary for a proper understanding of the Koran. And this idea is certainly not new or peripheral!