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This collection examines the roots of the artistic renaissance of Sufism from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries.
The romantic lyricism of the great Persian poet Hafiz (1315-1390) continues to be admired around the world. Recent exploration of that lyricism by Iranian scholars has revealed that, in addition to his masterful use of poetic devices, Hafiz's verse is deeply steeped in the philosophy and symbolism of Persian love mysticism. This innovative volume discusses the aesthetic theories and mystical philosophy of the classical Persian love-lyric (ghazal) as particularly exemplified by Hafiz (who, along with Rumi and Sa'di, is Persia's most celebrated poet). For the first time in western literature, Hafiz's rhetoric of romance is situated within the broader context of what scholars refer to as 'Love Theory' in Arabic and Persian poetry in particular and Islamic literature more generally. Contributors from both the West and Iran conduct a major investigation of the love lyrics of Hafiz and of what they signified to that high culture and civilization which was devoted to the School of Love in medieval Persia. The volume will have strong appeal to scholars of the Middle East, medieval Islamic literature, and the history and culture of Iran.
This comprehensive study is unique in its chronological breadth, intellectual diversity and historical scope and which demonstrates the central role played by Sufism in Persianate culture in Iran, Central Asia and India
Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-73), founder of the Mevlevi Sufi order of “Whirling Dervishes,” is the best-selling poet in America today. The wide-ranging appeal of his work is such that UNESCO declared 2007 to be “International Rumi Year.” However, his writings represent much more than love poetry. Rumi was one of the preeminent thinkers of Sufism, the esoteric form of Islam. In this groundbreaking collection of 13 essays on Rumi, many of the world’s leading authorities in the field of Islamic Studies and Persian Literature discuss the major religious themes in his poetry and teachings. In addition to discussing the ideas of love, ecstasy, and music in Rumi’s Sufi poetry, the essays offer new historical and theological perspectives on his work. The immortality of the soul, freewill, the nature of punishment and reward, and the relationship of Islam to Christianity are all covered, in order to bring Rumi’s poetry properly into the context of the Sufi tradition to which he belonged.
This collection - the second of a three-volume study - examines the roots of the artistic, literary and cultural renaissance of Sufism from the 12th to the 15th centuries. It includes essays on Rumi's poetry and imagery; Sufi music and the idea of ecstacy; sainthood and Neoplatonism; comparative metaphysics and literature; and unity of religion theory in Sufi philosophy.
Farid al-Din 'Attar (d. 1221) was the principal Muslim religious poet of the second half of the twelfth century. Best known for his masterpiece "Mantiq al-tayr", or "The Conference of Birds", his verse is still considered to be the finest example of Sufi love poetry in the Persian language after that of Rumi. Distinguished by their provocative and radical theology of love, many lines of 'Attar's epics and lyrics are cited independently of their poems as maxims in their own right. These pithy, paradoxical statements are still known by heart and sung by minstrels throughout Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and wherever Persian is spoken or understood, such as in the lands of the Indo-Pakistani S...
The Mawlana Rumi Review is an annual academic review devoted to the life, thought, poetry and legacy of Mawlana ( Our master ) Jalal al-Din Rumi (d.1273). It is a publication of the Rumi Institute, Near East University, Cyprus, and the Rumi Studies Group at the Centre for Persian and Iranian Studies, Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. The Mawlana Rumi Review publishes articles, translations, review articles, and book reviews including articles on Rumi s art of story-telling, poetic imagery, theology, spiritual psychology, ecumenism, erotic spirituality, pedagogy, hermeneutics, ethics, epistemology, prophetology, metaphysics and cosmology, the heritage of Rumi s thought in modern and medieval literary history, the interpretation and commentary on his works such as the Mathnawi and Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi, and literary translations of his poetry."
The first full-length study devoted tothe life and mystical experiences of one of the outstanding figures in Persian Sufism.
Shabistari's poetry frequently offers a deconstruction of the literalists' views concerning faith and infidelity. Essential to his understanding of Sufism is the need for personally experiencing the liberated state of the 'heart' that lies beyond so-called faith and infidelity. Professor Leonard Lewisohn has, not surprisingly, named his masterful study of Shabistari's teachings, Beyond Faith and Infidelity. Professor Lewisohn presents us with a comprehensive study of the historical context and the cultural and literary environment of Shabistari's era. In addition to the more audacious hermeneutical teachings of Sufism like the one explored above, the Garden of Mystery summarizes the Islamic/...
This look at Progressive-era women and innovative cultural practices “blazes a new trail in dance scholarship” (Choice, Outstanding Academic Book of the Year). From salons to dance halls to settlement houses, new dance practices at the turn of the twentieth century became a vehicle for expressing cultural issues and negotiating matters of gender. By examining master narratives of modern dance history, this provocative and insightful book demonstrates the cultural agency of Progressive-era dance practices. “Tomko blazes a new trail in dance scholarship by interconnecting U.S. History and dance studies . . . the first to argue successfully that middle-class U.S. women promoted a new dance practice to manage industrial changes, crowded urban living, massive immigration, and interchange and repositioning among different classes.” —Choice