Rumi and Shamsi Tabriz - thread of a web-discussion between Nasir Shamsi and Prof. Nima Hazini
Subj: Re: [ruminations] Re: The essence of Rumi and translation issues
Date: 3/20/00 10:33:26 AM Pacific Standard Time
From:
SHAMSIN@aol.comReply-to: ruminations@onelist.comTo: ruminations@onelist.com
From: Nasir Shamsi, SHAMSIN@aol.com
Dear Nima, Salam
Many many thanks for such an exquisite and detailed response. It seems there
are two Ma'arafs: one by Maulana Rumi's father (one that you have) and
another by his son, Baha'uddin Muhammad (known as Sultan Valed). I have the
Ma'araf by Sultan valed,with introduction,notes and annotations by Najeeb
Ma'yel Hirvi, published in 1347 by Intesharat Mouli.(It is available from
Jahan books,Bethesda,MD).It is a fascinating book based on the day to day
lectures and discussions of Sultan Valed with his students on a variety of
topics ranging from exegesis of Quran, the Traditions of the Prophet to the
methods of the melvi order, Irfan and Sufism, the etiquettes of the Melvis,
discussions about the a'ulia's and their stations, the esoteric issues, the
Chilla'hs , relationship of body and soul, stations of human in 'salook',
fana and baq'a, Qeel-o Qa'al, reality of dreams, just to name a few topics. A
very intersting book indeed !
You wrote:
<
of it. Notwithstanding these are nevertheless crypto-Shi'i traits.>>
Nima, You are right. Some of the earlier scholars were open to other schools
and often exchanged views among themselves. Even in countries like Pakistan
and India, there are branches of the Sunnite, like Barelvi and Chishtia who are ardent lovers of Hazrat Ali and the Ahlul Bait of the Prophet in sharp contrast to the
Deobandis,Wahabisand Ahlul Hadith who distance themselves from the family of
the Ahlul bait. The Barelvis show great respect for Abu Talib, Ali's father
and the Prophet's uncle who had brought him up and protected him against the
hostile Meccans. Abu Talib is held in great esteem by the Shia, while
ironically the Wahabis,the Ahle Hadith and Deobandis do not even consider him
a Muslim. On the other hand, a Sunni Barelvi, Allama Obaidullah Amratsari
wrote a remarkable book " Abu Talib, Momin-e Quresh ", eulogising Abu Talib
as favorite uncle of the Prophet and his protecter and supporter in conveying
the message of faith to the non-believers. He was his shield. No wonder after
Abu Talib's death, the Meccans made life so difficult for the Prophet that he
was forced to leave Mecca with the few believers. It is surprising how the
people allow themselves to be blinded by their narrow bias and prejudices and
still claim their adherence to the Quran and Sunnah. Most Sufi's have an
element of crypto Shi'ism in them; many of them consider Ali as the source of
' Irfan " and most of them display love for the Ahlul Bait, the family of the
Prophet. The Sufis have greatly served Islam by emphasing love of God which
includes love for all human beings,even animals. Their belief in Unity of God
implies unity of all humankind, in fact unity of all creation. It was the
Sufi message of love and serenity that is responsible for spread of Islam in
India and Central Asia. Islam in India did not spread because of the
conquests of Mahmud Ghazni, Ghouris and the Mughals, the light of Islam shined in India because of the bearers of that torch, the Sufi saints like Data
Ganj Bakhsh (Syed Ali Hajveri), Khawaja Mueenuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Aulia (Hafeezullah just returned after visiting thir shrines and he should share
his celestial experience ), Baba Farid Shakr Ganj, Mian Mir, Sultan Bahu
,Shahbaz Qalander, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and Shams Tabriz who, buried in
Multan, contrary to the conflicting reports of Maulana Rumi's biographers,
was alone responsible for converting thousands of Hindus in Kashmir, Skardu,
Baltistan and Punjab. I am told one of the reason why the Konians
disliked Shams Tabriz, inspite of his extra-ordinary stature as a mystic of
no ordinary attainment, was his Shiite belief which he had kept from them in
exercise of ' taqqiya ' , what Corban calls, Discipline of the arcane, or
dissimulation to escape persecution or threat to your life. By the way, the
taqiyya, originating from instinct for survival is best expressed by lines
from Maulana Rumi's beautiful poem: derakht agar moteharek budi: be-pa: o be-par nah ranj-e areh keshidi nah zakhmha-ye tabar {If a tree could run or fly, it would not suffer from the teeth of a saw or the blows of an axe.I am reminded of the Prophet's sudden departure for Madina to escape injury(ranje arah/zakhma-e tabar) }. Shams Tabriz escaped from Konia, " without
leaving a trace behind ", (according to Nicholson's account) , also for the
same reason, to avoid " ranj-e areh keshidi " and " zakhmha-ye tabar ". He
was neither be-pa nor be-par. In fact he was so mobile (moteharek) that he
was often called ' par-inda ' , according to Scimmell and other authors of
Rumi. So he flew to Tabriz to collect his family, then to Basra and Baghdad
and finally he surfaced in India via the most difficult mountainous terraines
of Skardu and Gilgit. The second couplet of the Ode 1042 ( I do not have its
Persian original ) applies so precisely and succinctly to Shams Tabriz again
If the Sun ( Shams) did not run across the sky
the world would not see
the colors of morning.
Yes , Shams did run across the horizon, true to Maulana's perception of
him.No matter where he went in the world, the east and the west, he brought
with him the color of morning, the light of faith. Maulana is amazingly prophetic about his Murshad (spiritual master) and Mentor.
I thank you for providing the first couplet (in Persian). Could you share with us the whole Persian text of the poem ?. I am tempted to reproduce the English translation provided by Muni Gilbert last night,which I very much appreciate.
If a tree could run or fly
it would not suffer from the teeth of a saw
or the blows of an axe.
If the Sun did not run across the sky
the world would not see
the colors of morning.
If water did not rise from the sea
plants would not be quickened
by rivers or rain.
It's only when a drop leaves the ocean - and returns
that it can find an oyster
and become a pearl.
When Joseph left his father
both were weeping
Didn't he gain a kingdom and a fortune
in the end?
Didn't the Prophet
gain the world and a hundred empires
by traveling to Medina?
But you have no need to go anywhere
journey within yourself.
Enter a mine of rubies
and bathe in the splendor of your own light.
O great one,
Journey from self to Self
and find the mine of gold.
Leave behind what is sour and bitter
move toward what is sweet.
Be like the thousand different fruits
that grow from briny soil.
This is the miracle
Every tree becomes beautiful
when touched by sunlight;
Every soul becomes gold ( I made a correction in this line )
when touched by the Sun of Tabriz (Shamsi Tabriz).
Ghazal 1042 ( translation by Scimmell )
I was particularly moved by your quotes from Najmuddin Kobra.
<
not external to you. You are they. So, too Heaven, Earth and the Divine
Throne are not located outside of you; nor are Paradise, Hell, Life or
Death. All of these exist within you, as you will realize once you have
accomplished the initiatic journey and become pure. (Fawa'ih, par.67:32,
trans. Waley). >>
Amazing insight into the marvels of the " inner space " which has a lot more
to explore than the outer space, with its own galaxies and orbits, the
esoteric boundaries of human existence. The 7th to 13th century AD produced
several " scientists " of the inner space, the mystics who could look into
the limitless potential of human soul. These bastions of spiritual wisdoms
and immaculate sources of knowledge,the explorer of the human soul had
discovered the inner beauty of the human soul that connects it directly and
inextricably with the Total Soul, the Haq, the Creator, the Hu, the Jehovah ,
Rabb-us samawaat-e sabe', Rabb-al Aalameen, the Master of Many Worlds. There
is so much hidden in the Persian and Arabic languages and there is so much to
share with the people in the West. Nimajan, people like you and Ibrahim and
Ghazaleh who have the bilingual gift should translate these marvelous works
in English for the greater benefit of the greatest number and in doing so
you'll bring the people of the East and the west closer to one another, forge
a spiritual bond between them , the bond of unity under ONe God. As a result
when you leave, you'll have left a better world behind , a world united in
Love for God, where people are not afraid of talking of God , a world whare
people can live in perfect peace and love for one another.
With love and peace,
Yours,
Nasir Shamsi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: 3/20/00 2:19:18 AM
Eastern Standard Time
From: wahdat@hotmail.com (Nima Hazini)
From: "Nima Hazini"
Dear Shamsi,
You asked:
<<. I have a copy of ' Ma'araf ' written by Maulana Rumi's son, Sultan > >Walad. You are also referring to a ' Ma'araf ' written by Rumi's >father,
>Baha'uddin Walad. Are there two Ma'arafs or is it a mix up ? >>
No, the _Ma'aref_ you are thinking of is a work by Rumi's father, Baha'uddin
Valad. The edition of this work was done by Badi:'ozzama:n Forouzanfar and
was initially published in Tehran in 1338 solar/1959. Is this the one you
own? The _Valad-Nameh_ and a _Diwan_ of poetry (mediocre by his father's
standards) are the works of Sultan Valad, Rumi's son. The _Valad-Nameh_ is a
history of the early Mevlevi order and chiefly the life of Rumi,
interspersed with mystical musings by the author, put in verse. In this
century it was first edited by Ustad Jala:l Homa:'i: and initially published
in Tehran in 1315 solar/1936. The Divan of Sultan Valad I do not own but
have perused a copy of it. On a scale of one to ten (ten being the sublime
quality of Rumi's poetry in the Divan), I would give it a generous five.
Incidentally, the _Valad-Nameh_ was the chief source for Afla:ki's largely
hagiographical survey of the early Mevlevi Order, the
_Mana:qib'ul-`A:rifi:n_. I also understand there is a collection of Sultan
Valad's poems in Turkish (I won't comment on this work, since I
unfortunately don't read Turkish).
>2.Could you tell us more about Najmuddin Kubra ? Who was he ?
> Was he a Fatimide ? What do you mean by Crypto-Shi'i ? Did Shams >Tabriz
>have any relations with the Crpto-Shi'ites ? It is reported >Rumi's father,
>Sultanul Ulama Baha'uddin was a Hanafi. If that is >true, how do you
>reconcile his being a " Khalifa of a >Crypto-shi'ite, Najmuddin Kubra ?
Well, easy. In the Islamicate world of pre-modernity, many a scholar or
mystic held multiple "intellectual" or "spiritual" affiliations
simultaneously, and there are countless examples one could furnish. One
could be, say, a Hanafite or Shafi'ite (or whatever) in one's doctrinal
approach to the Sharia', fiqh and other areas in the science of
jurisprudence, while maintaining a spiritual affiliation with Sufis and
mystics of all bents and shapes. One could also be a peripatetic philosopher
as well as a Sufi master (take the case of Ba:ba: Afda:l Ka:sha:ni). For
example, Ibn `Arabi was a Zahiri in his basic/foundational approach to fiqh
(which was among the most hyper- conservative and ultra-literalist of legal
schools) - albeit he modified his Zahirism in an interesting direction. But
to give a really noteworthy example, many of the Nizari Isma'ili
intellectuals who went underground after the Mongol onslaught and
destruction of the fortress-city of Alamut, a generation later showed up
either as Hanafite or Shafi'te `alims or just straight Sufis. Yet, the
Hanafite/Isma'ili connection apparently had already been in full swing among
certain Nizari Isma'ilis of Syria a full generation before the Mongols even
showed up in Iran (see the studies of Ivanow, Wilfred Madelung and Farhad
Daftary in this regard). No need to point out, that the Isma'ilis were
camouflaging themselves from outside hostility by practicing a form of
taqqiyyah/dissimulation (or what Corbin likes calling the "discipline of the
arcane").
Furthermore, in the past there was also noticable crypto-Shi'i elements
fully present even among mainstream Sunni practice - most of which is even
around today in some places untouched by fundamentalists and wahabis.
Veneration of the household of the Prophet (Ahl'ul-Bayt), particularly of
`Ali, Husayn, Zayn'ul-Abidin and Jafar as-Sadiq, celebration of Ashura
during Muharram, etc, were observed as belonging part and parcel of the
popular religiosity without the distinctly Shi'i label being placed upon any
of it. Notwithstanding these are nevertheless crypto-Shi'i traits. So, in
answer to your question, it was not all that contradictory for
Sultan'ul-`Ulama Baha'uddin Valad to have been a Hanafi jurist but a Kubravi
Sufi at the same time.
On Najmuddin Kobra, below are two short posts I sent to another list.
Cheers,
Nima
--
Shaykh Najmoddin Kobra (d.618/1221), founder of the Kobraviyyeh Sufi Order,
died at Urgench, near Khwarazm, when the city was overrun by the Mongol
army, and presumably he is still buried there. His major
work, _Fawa'ih al-Jamal wa Fawatih al-Jalal_, was critically edited by the
German Islamicist Fritz Meier (Weisbaden: 1957) and can be found in any good
university research library with a decent Islamics/Middle
East studies collection. Meir's introduction discusses many details about
the life, thought and oeuvre of the Shaykh, but also look at Richard
Gramlich's _Die schiitischen Derwishorden Persiens_ 3 volumes
(Wiesbaden: 1965) which provides additional details about Kobra's genealogy.
Also, look at the works of Henri Corbin, especially his _The Man of Light in
Iranian Sufism_ (Boulder: 1978) and _En islam iranienne_ 4 volumes (Paris:
1974).
Other secondary works which discuss Shaykh Najmuddin Kobra, his order
and spiritual descendents, are `Abdurrahman Jami's _Nafahat'ul-Uns min
Hadarat'ul-Quds_, ed. M. Tawhidi-Pur (Tehran: Kitabfurushi-ye Sa`di,
1336/1957), _Mukatabat-e `Abd al-Rahman Isfarayini ba `Ala al-Dawla
Simnani_, ed. Herman Landolt (Tehran/Paris: 1972), Hamid Algar's article in
The Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed., and Muhammad Isa Waley's essay entitled
"Najm al-Din Kubra and the Central Asian School of Sufism" in _Islamic
Spirituality II_ (ed.) Seyyed Hossein Nasr (New York: 1991), pp. 80-104. You
might also want to check the appropriate Encyclopedia Iranica entry.
---
Najmoddin Kobra was a unique Sufi master and thinker, in that after
Ayn'ul-Quzat Hamadhani, Suhravardi and before Ibn `Arabi he systematized an
analytical Sufi metaphysical spiritual psychology based entirely on the
visionary apperception of photisms of light. Like Indian Kundalini Yoga,
this spiritual psychology (or more correctly, "pneumatology," i.e. science
of the soul) posits seven subtle centers (the lata'if) surrounding the body
which are progressively triggered and deepened as a spiritual novice
advances on the Path. According to Ala'Dowleh Simnani, a successor of Kobra,
these subtle centers also represent and correspond to seven archetypal
prophets of the soul (i.e. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Solomon, David, Jesus and
Muhammad).
The Kobravi Sufism of Najmuddin Kobra is also interesting from an
important angle in that it exhibited a very pronounced crypto-Shi'ism. As
such two overtly Twelver Shi'i Sufi orders, the Nurbakhshiyyah (now
based in Pakistan) and the Zahabiyyah (now exlusively based in Shiraz),
branched from it. Corbin has pointed out that the Kobravi method of
scriptural interpretation, unlike some other contemporary Sufi masters of
the time, demonstrated a method highly reminiscent of the style and approach
of Isma'ili spiritual/scriptual exegisis (tawil) much like that of Nasir-e
Khosrow or Abu Yaqub Sijistani. Of course, the philosophical/gnostic tawil
approach was also utilized extensively by Twelver (ithna `ashari) authors
such as Allama al-Hilli and others. However, not to the same extent and
philosophical depth as the Isma'ilis, and only with the impact of the school
of Kobra and Ibn `Arabi upon Twelver Shi'ism with such authors as Seyyed
Haydar Amuli, Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsai and Rajab Bursi did it gain the sort
of wide
intellectual currency High Gnostic Twelver Shi'ism is now known for. The
only works currently available of Kobra's oeuvre still remains Meir's
edition of the _Fawa'ih al-Jamal wa Fawatih al-Jalal_ and M. Mole's edition
of several shorter treatises in _Traites mineurs de Nagm al-Din Kubra_
Annales islamologiques no.4 (Cairo: 1963). The first work I own, Mole's
text/edition I've read, especially the treatise entitled _Risalah
ila'l-ha'im al-kha'if min lawmat al-la'im_ (Treatise to the Dozing [Seeker]
Fearful of the Blamer's Blame). I
also own Najmuddin Razi Daya's _Mirsad'ul-`ibad_ (ed.) Muhammad Amin Riyahi
(Tehran: Bungah-e Tarjumeh va Nashr-e Kitab, 1352/1973) which is a summary
by one of Kobra's important student's and a contemporary of Rumi's of some
of the key doctrines of the Shaykh (incidentally Rumi's father, Bahau'ddin
Valad, was a disciple as well as a khalifa of Najmuddin Kobra ). Since it is
difficult to summarize a profound
spiritual figure such as Kobra in a few short paragraphs, I will let him
speak for himself with four short translations from his _Fawa'ih_ done by
Muhammad Isa Waley:
Know that the lower soul, the Devil, and the Angel are realities that are
not external to you. You are they. So, too Heaven, Earth and the Divine
Throne are not located outside of you; nor are Paradise, Hell, Life or
Death. All of these exist within you, as you will realize once you have
accomplished the initiatic journey and become pure. (Fawa'ih, par.67:32,
trans. Waley).
You can only see or witness an object by means of some part of that same
object. As we said, it is only the mine whence it came which a precious
stone sees, desires, and yearns for. So when you have a vision of a sky, an
earth, a sun, stars, or a moon, you should know that the particle in you
which has its origin in that same mine has become pure. The more pure you
become, the purer and more radiant will be the sky that appears to you,
until in the last stages of the journey you travel within the Divine Purity.
But Divine Purity is
limitless, so never think that there is not something more exalted still
ahead. (Fawa'ih, par.60:28-29, ibid.).
When you see before you a vast expanse opening out toward the distance,
there is clear air above you and you see on the far horizon colors such as
green, yellow, and blue, know that you are going to pass through that air to
where those colors are. The colors appertain to spiritual states. Green is
the sign of the life of the heart [this being the highest state]. The color
of pure fire indicates the life of "spiritual concentration" (himmah), which
denotes power [of actualization]. If this fire be dark, that betokens the
fire of exertion and shows the seeker to be weary and afflicted after the
battle with the lower ego and the Devil. Blue is the color
of the life of the ego. Yellow is the color of lassitude. All these are
suprasensory realities that speak with him who experiences them in the two
languages of inner tasting (dhawq) and visionary apperception. These are two
reliable, mutually corroboratory witnesses: what you behold with inner
vision you also experience within yourself, and what you experience inwardly
you also behold with inner vision. (Fawa'ih, par.13:6, ibid)
This Face is in reality your own face and this sun is the Sun of the Spirit
which oscillates in your body. Then your entire body is immersed in purity,
and at that moment you see before you a person made of light, who generates
lights. The spiritual traveller, too, then experiences his entire body as
generating lights. It may be that the veil will fall from all individuality, so that you see totality through the totality of your body. The faculty ofinner vision is opened first in the eyes, then the face, then the breast, then the whole body. This person of light in front of you is called by the People [Sufis] "the Suprasensory Guide," and is also known as "the
Suprasensory [Personal] Master" or the "Suprasensory Scales [of Judgement]" (Fawa'ih, par.66:31-32, ibid ). Shams, with his profound understanding of religion, based on his masterly grasp of Quran and Tradition, as is evident from a careful study of Maqalat-i Shams Tabrizi ( his conversations with Rumi, as recorded by Rumi's son, Sultan vald ) was able to liberate Rumi from the narrow confines of the dogmatic teachings that even today serve to divide rather than unite people That explains the message of love that so beautifuly and in such abundance permeates the whole body fabric of Rumi's poetry in Mathnavi as well as Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz.
Nasir Shamsi>
