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“The Immense Oceans of God’s Love”: Rumi’s Oceanic Imagery

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Mystical Traditions

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mysticism ((INTERMYST))

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Abstract

Sufi poet Jalal al-din Rumi lived in Central Asia far from the sea and yet images of the sea appear often in his writings. Why is this such a recurring theme for this mystic? How did images of the sea express something unknown and unfathomable and yet were a resource for insight? In the tradition of Attar, Sanai, and others, Rumi sought an unseen world in that which was seen. He looked for allegories of truth that resonate in the finite. Mysticism in any faith tradition is often about finding ways to connect the finite with the infinite God. Concepts of soul and spirit are concepts for Rumi where the ultimate destination is the sea, a vast and unknowable beauty. This chapter will explore Rumi’s use of images of the sea as a place of grace and purity and a holder of divine secrets which offers each of us an invitation to an immersion away from dryness toward what Sufi writers call fana—a sense of completion and fulfillment.

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Notes

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tehran, Iran

    Fariba Darabimanesh

  2. Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK

    Christian van Gorder

  3. Religion Department, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA

    Christian van Gorder

Authors
  1. Fariba Darabimanesh
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  2. Christian van Gorder
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hickey Center and IIIT Chair, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY, USA

    Muhammad Shafiq

  2. Religious Studies Department, Nazareth College, Rochester, NY, USA

    Thomas Donlin-Smith

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Darabimanesh, F., van Gorder, C. (2023). “The Immense Oceans of God’s Love”: Rumi’s Oceanic Imagery. In: Shafiq, M., Donlin-Smith, T. (eds) Mystical Traditions. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Mysticism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27121-2_5

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