Sufis and Sufism
Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_666
We are the flute, our music is Yours;
We are the mountain echoing only You;
Pieces of chess, You marshall us in line
And move us to defeat or victory…
(Rumi, cited in Mabley, 2002: 35)
Sufism is the mystical expression of Islamic faith. Numerous orders or brotherhoods (
tariqa) have been formed over the centuries, many following well-known spiritual leaders (
shaykhs). Best known in the West is the Whirling Dervishes or Mevlevi, a path of which Rumi was the founder. Jalal al-din Rumi (1207–1273
ce) was born in Persia and settled in Konya in present-day Turkey. His poetry speaks eloquently of love and surrender to the Divine One, and especially of the longing for mystical union (Rumi,
1975). The aim of the Sufi is to perfectly reflect the image of God in one's heart, thus to achieve union with the Divine. For two years, Rumi's closest soul-mate was Shams–i Tabrizi, and after the unexpected departure of this companion, Rumi's grief was expressed passionately as “the dance of the spheres”...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.
Bibliography
- Corbin, H. (1969). Alone with the alone: Creative imagination in the sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi. Princeton, NJ: Bollingen Series XCI.Google Scholar
- Ibn ‘Arabi. (1980). The bezels of wisdom (R. W. J. Austin, Trans.) Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.Google Scholar
- Jalal al-Din Rumi. (1975). Teachings of Rumi: The Masnavi (E. H. Winfield, Trans.). New York: E. P. Dutton.Google Scholar
- Mabey, J. (2002). Rumi: A spiritual treasury. Oxford, England: Oneworld Publications.Google Scholar
- Trimingham, J. S. (1998). The Sufi orders in Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Copyright information
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010