Poetical works: DÏw¥n-i kabÏr
R‰mÏ’s lyric poetry has the intensity of a man who has given everything, lost everything – and found everything. The poems collected in the DÏw¥n, which as the earliest manuscripts indicate were originally entitled DÏw¥n-i Shams al-¤aq¥’iq or DÏwan-i KabÏr (the Great DÏwan), comprise about 40,000 verses. Composed probably over a period of more than thirty years, they were sometimes chanted at the gatherings of Mevlevi dervishes. Besides ghazals, there are also quatrains and longer stanzaic poems. Most are in praise of love of the Divine and the ecstasy of lovers ‘crazy’ enough to give everything in their quest for the Beloved. They evoke, often with tremendous poetic force, a variety of spiritual states; closeness to God, longing, separation, hope, fear, self-reproach, exultation. Some also contain narratives with morals, though in briefer form than in the MathnawÏ. This Treasury contains less of Mawl¥n¥’s ecstatic poetry than other selections do; purely in order to strike a balance, not because of any partiality on the compiler’s part.
Mawl¥n¥ claimed that he did not care for poetry and that he only composed it to please his local audience, who did not have the same liking for sermons as people in his native region, Central Asia. Arberry, following the rhetoric of Sul~¥n Walad’s account of his father, has been followed by others in asserting that Jal¥l al-DÏn was ‘wholly incapable of controlling the torrent of poetry that poured forth from him.’ But many poems in the DÏw¥n display control and technical mastery as well as eloquence and ingenuity. For example, one of the long stanzaic poems or TarjÏ¢¥t comprises seven stanzas of twelve couplets, and their coherence and technical precision are exemplary. Prosodically, R‰mÏ used a wider variety of meters than any other Persian poet. Linguistically, he also wrote some poems wholly in Arabic, some partly in Arabic and partly in Persian, some lines in Turkish, and a few in Demotic Greek. All this shows that he had studied assiduously the works of other masters of Persian and Arabic verse. In poetry, as in all crafts, mastery is rarely achieved (even by geniuses), without prolonged study and sheer hard work. Finally, the range of his imagery and symbolism testifies to an extraordinary power of unitive vision.
Poetical works: The MathnawÏ
The MathnawÏ is the author’s undisputed masterpiece. This extraordinary poem, which is a kind of literary treatise in rhyming couplets on Islamic spirituality, is immensely long, comprising over 25,000 verses in six Daftars, or volumes. It appears that its composition was inspired by a suggestion from his ‘star disciple’ ¤us¥m al-DÏn ChalabÏ that the master produce a work like the Il¥hÏ-n¥ma or ‘Book of God’, a didactic poem by the great Persian Sufi ‘A~~¥r that was popular among some of Mawl¥n¥’s disciples. And that is what he did, expressing the hope that after his passing the MathnawÏ itself would be like a Shaykh to take his place (though he taught that guidance from a living spiritual master was also indispensable). Seven centuries and a half later, that hope has been amply fulfilled. What a providential aspiration, and what manifest success! Precisely when the composition of the MathnawÏ began is not known, but it must have been in or near to 660/1260. The process continued until the author’s death thirteen years later, with a break after completion of the first Daftar.
Those who know Arabic may be interested to read the prefaces (in that language) to five of the six Books. Each deals with one or two key themes. The fifth, for example, comments on the relationship between the Sacred Law (SharÏ¢¥), Inner Reality (¤aqÏqa),cay (>arÏqa). The great Sufi poet and metaphysician ¢Abd al-Ra^man JamÏ (d. 895/1492) nicknamed the MathnawÏ ‘the Qur’an in Persian’. This is of course poetic hyperbole; but the poem certainly offers, amongst other things, profound commentaries on many passages of the Holy Qur’an. In that connection the author himself makes a crucial point: when reading or hearing about Moses and Pharaoh, one should beware of thinking that this is no more than ‘a tale of the ancients’. At a deeper level it is an account of the conflict between Truth and falsehood that takes place within human souls; other Qur’anic narratives, too, have universal significations.
The notion advanced by orientalists that the MathnawÏ is rambling and lacks coherence is a serious error, for while the connecting thread may at times be subtle, time and again two or more themes are skilfully interwoven, left suspended for a page or two, and then resumed. The same criticism has been levelled at the ghazals of the great Persian lyric poet ¤¥fi·. Such views illustrate the difficulty many westerners have in fully appreciating literary works from other cultures.
The MathnawÏ’s stories come from many sources. There was a rich seam of folk tales to be mined in the written and oral traditions of Central Asia and the Middle East. Certain stories, for example, are derived from KalÏla wa Dimna, animal fables that are largely of Indian origin. Others, such as the now famous story of the elephant in a dark room, can be found in the poems of R‰mÏ’s predecessor San¥’Ï. Many of the narratives, however, are derived from the Holy Qur’an and stories of the Prophets, the Awliy¥’ All¥h (‘Friends of God’ or saints), their struggles and triumphs, and their relationships with their Lord and their fellow creatures. Although most of the tales in the MathnawÏ are not original, the poet’s treatment of them often is. Between them come passages in which the moral is dwelt upon – another possible reason for the analogies made with Islam’s Holy Book.
This Treasury of R‰mÏ cannot claim any degree of comprehensiveness. To enable readers to pick and choose between general themes, however, the content has been divided into ten sections, each comprising seven texts: (1) Who are We? The Nature and Origin of Mankind; (2) Facing Facts: Death, Suffering, Change; (3) Foes and the Battle: Enemies of God and Man; (4) Guides and Helpers: Prophets, Shaykhs, and Saints; (5) Wings to Fly With: Fear, Hope, and Love; (6) Bitter and Sweet: Self-Discipline and Spiritual Progress; (7) Faith and Wisdom: The DÏn of Islam from Within; (8) Beyond Duality: Dilemmas Resolved; (9) Lord and Cherisher: The Relationship with God; (10) Aspects of Unity: Wisdom, Knowledge, Serenity. All translations in this Treasury, with two (acknowledged) exceptions, are by the compiler. Persian and Arabic words have been transliterated in Arabic style because it seems likely that more readers will have some familiarity with that language than with Dari Persian (also, the consonantal w¥w was probably pronounced as w by the author and his contemporaries). The style of the Treasury series calls for the inclusion of the texts in the original language. In this case, however, it was decided to opt for a selection of them. The orthography of the Persian texts has been simplified for the benefit of modern readers.
This Treasury of R‰mÏ represents, to borrow a Persian expression, ‘a handful from the donkey-load’ – a tiny sample of the immense spiritual riches to be found in the author’s works. Innumerable passages of great beauty and profundity, and even many subject areas, have had to be left out. As for the commentaries, these are neither comprehensive nor faultless. For whatever is worthwhile in them the credit belongs to the compiler’s teachers, to all of whom this little book is humbly dedicated. For whatever is defective, the fault is his alone. Despite its shortcomings, it is hoped that readers will find in this book a source of wisdom, consolation, and inspiration – and food for contemplation.
WHO ARE WE?
THE NATURE
AND DESTINY OF
MANKIND