The Mystical Mathnawi

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کتاب مذکور مجموعه ای از مقالات چاپ شده در مجلات بین المللی و نیز مقالات ارائه شده در سمینارهای مختلف بین المللی بوده و به زبان انگلیسی میباشد.

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The Mawlawi Sufi Order

The Mawlawi Sufi order (Mawlawiyah or Mawlawi, as it is known in Turkey) was founded in (1273) by Rumi's followers after his death. His first successor in the rectorship of the order was Husam Chelebi himself, after whose death in (1284) Rumi's younger and only surviving son, Sultan Walad (1312), favorably known as author of the mystical Mathnawi Rabābnāma, or the "Book of the Guitar", was installed as grand master of the order. The leadership of the order has been kept in Rumi's family in Konya uninterruptedly since then. The Mawlawi Sufis, also known as "Whirling Dervishes", believe in performing their dhikr in the form of samā. During the time of Rumi (as attested in the "Manākib ul-Ārefīn" of Aflākī), his followers gathered for musical and "turning" practices. Rumi himself was a notable musician who played the robāb although his favorite instrument was the Ney. The music accompanying the traditional ritual consists of settings of poems from the Mathnawi and Dīwān-e Kabīr or of Sultan Walad's poems. The Mawlawiyah was a well-established Sufi Order in the Ottoman Empire, and many of the members of the order served in various official positions of the Caliphate. The center for the Mawlawiyah was in Konya. There is also a Mawlawi monastery in Istanbul, near the Galata Tower, where the samā ceremony is performed and accessible to the public. The Mawlawī order issues an invitation to people of all backgrounds.

1- Introduction
Sufism is generally believed to have originated among Muslims near Basra in modern Iraq, though there is a history of Sufism in Transoxania dating from shortly after the time of Muhammad. From the traditional Sufi point of view, the esoteric teachings of Sufism were transmitted from the Prophet Muhammad, who was taught by God, to those who had the capacity to contain the direct experiential gnosis of God, which was passed on from teacher to student through the centuries. Almost all traditional Sufi schools (or "orders") trace their "chains of transmission" back to Muhammad via his cousin and son in-law Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Naqshbandi order is a notable exception to this rule, as it traces its origin to Caliph Abu Bakr.
The origin and roots of Sufism lie in the life and practices of the Prophet of Islam and the Qur’an. Sufism espouses a well-founded and thoroughgoing interpretation of Islam, which focuses on love, tolerance, worship of God, community development, and personal development through self-discipline and responsibility. A Sufi’s way of life is to love and be of service to people, deserting the ego or false self and all illusion so that one can reach maturity and perfection, and finally reach Allah, the True, the Real.
Through the Whirling Dervishes program I hope to bring a hint of one of the remarkable ways of achieving this: the way of Rumi, the great Muslim mystic and poet.
The Order of the Whirling Dervishes is one branch of the vast Sufi tradition of Islam. The universal values of love and service shared by all Sufis are very much relevant to the social and political realities of today, and this ritual, which is only performed by the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, has come to symbolize these values in the hearts and minds of millions throughout the world.

C) Indian Style

The style which dominated the literary region of Iran from the outset of the 17^th century through the second half of the 18the century is called the Indian style because the poets in these two centuries were traveling from the literary regions of Iran to the regions of sub-continent where they were warmly received.[1] Thus their poetic style came to be known as the Indian style. Factors like religion, traveling to India, economic and social affairs, cultural relations between Iran and India, the support of the Indian kings, philosophical and mystical developments helped the emergence of Indian style. From a linguistic point of view the prevalence of Turkic words, banality, the popularity of incorrect words, the prevalence of Persian-Indian dialect combined with ambiguity are completely evident in this style. From the viewpoint of idea, the India style pays attention to meaning and is less concerned with form and structure. Conceptualization is central to this style. The effort to present a specific imagination or a prominent meaning caused the obscurity of Indian poetic form. Also on a literary level, the musical structure with the use of rhetorical figures was not emphasized.

Different Genres of Persian Poetry

Persian literature is multi-dimensional in its scope, and there is a vast treasure of Persian poetry. The works of many of the minor poets are lost. They died without biographers, leaving only a residue of scattered work and anecdotes. I have selected a few great Persian poets whose works have been documented. You’ll hear recitations of some of their poems in English.

There are several poetry styles. All have a harmonious cadence; the classical/traditional styles follow strict rules and structure regarding rhyming and the number of syllables. Here are some popular styles.

Masnavi is a series of couplets where the last word(s) of each couplet rhyme. All units of couplets have precisely the same number of syllables.Masnavi has an underlying theme (like a story) and could be short or run to hundreds of verses. The poet may sign his work by incorporating his name in one of the verses near the end. Masnavi is typical of poems by Ferdowsi and Nezami, and some of Rumi’s.

Ghazal (ode) is usually 6 to 10 lines (couplets) where the last word(s) of the first couplet and all the second parts of the following couplets rhyme. Again, all units of couplets have precisely the same number of syllables. Ghazal has a general underlying theme, like love, separation, friendship, and such. The poet signs his work by incorporating his name in the last couplet. Ghazal is typical of poems by Hafez, and some of Rumi’s.[1]

Qasideh (elegy) has a structure similar to ghazal, but has a strict theme, such as a story; it is not restricted in length.

Quatrain (Robayi) has two couplets, where the first, second, and the 4th piece rhyme. All Omar Khayyam’s poems are Robayis.

Main Styles of the Persian Literature

In general, the most famous styles of the Persian literature are consisting of: Khorasani style, Iraqi style and Hindi style. We will discuss about these three styles of the Persian literature in continue.

A) Khorasani Style

The major genres of Persian poetry emerge in the period of the Khorasani style (tenth to early twelfth centuries).[1] These include the short poem or epigram, generally in the four line rubai (pl. rubaityat) form, or as a qate’(fragment, a form often used for satire or personal invective); the medium-length poem of praise and so on. The Khorasani style’s masterpiece is the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, which recounts the pre-Islamic myths and romanticized history of Iran from the creation of the world to the Arab conquest. Sanai Ghaznavi one the famous Persian poets is credited with this style. Iraqi style is more sush and more cerebral than Khorasani, delighting in the decoration, word play and conspicuous euphony. Many of the tropes current during the period of the Khorasani style had become conventional.[2]

The influential romances of the Azerbaijani poet Nezami (1141-1209) may be regarded as transitional between the two styles.

Khorasani style”, as most of its followers were associated with Greater Khorasan, is characterized with its supercilious diction, dignified tone, and relatively literate language. The chief representatives of this lyricism are Asjadi, Farrukhi Sistani, Unsuri, and Manuchehri. Panegyric masters such as Rudaki were known for their love of nature, their verse abounding with evocative descriptions.

The Survey of Nezami Ganjavi’s Role in Revival of the Iraqi’s Style of the Persian Poem

Outline of the Topic

A) Introduction

The Persian language has endured for more than a millennium in its present form. The main reason for this is the rich Persian literature and, especially, poetry. Persian speaking people today can read poems written more than 1000 years ago and understand and enjoy it as was done then. Perhaps, the best-known Persian poets in the West are Khayyam, Rumi, Nezami and Saadi. Although they deserve the fame, Persian poetry is so much more. I’ll try to give a glimpse into the vast treasure of Persian poetry. The present-day Persian language, which the native speakers call Farsi, is derived from the Indo- Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. An old form of this language, called Pahlavi, prevailed in the Persian Empire as early as 6th century BC, when it was written in cuneiform. Incidentally, you may have noticed that I am calling the language under discussion “Persian” and not “Farsi” as some people are recently calling it, regrettably including some of the Persians. I think this is an unfortunate choice. Dear as “Farsi” is to us when we speak or write Persian, “Persian” in English, and its likes in Western languages, are fairly well known names resulting from the long history of Persia and its political and cultural achievements and its relationships with other nations. One talks of Persian art, Persian miniatures, Persian carpets, Persian poetry, Persian blue, Persian gardens, the Persian Empire, and Greco-Persian wars, not to mention Persian cats. The Bible speaks of “the laws of the Medes and the Persians” as examples of strictly enforced laws. These are all, unless one is a cat hater, pleasant and useful associations. Of course, not all such associations are complimentary. For instance, one talks about the wars of the Greeks and the Persians as the war between democracy and arbitrary rule, reflecting the view of the Greeks who understandably were hardly fond of the Persians. Later, in the 2nd century BC, a new alphabet was created, known also as Pahlavi, which remained in use until the Arab invasion in the 7th century. Since the 10th century, Persian has been written in Arabic script, using the 28 letters in the Arabic alphabet, itself derived from the Aramaic alphabet, and 4 more letters (p, ch, zh, and g). Also, some Arabic words have been injected into Persian. However, Persian is different from Arabic, which is a Semitic language. So, the Persian language has had the same structure for more than 1300 years. It is also spoken in some parts of former Soviet Union (Azarbaijan, Tajikstan, and Uzbakestan), as well as Afghanistan, and parts of China, India, Pakistan, and Turkey.