Guest Blog by T.L. James of Mars Blog and Man of Two Worlds. Part of our weekly Sufi Wisdom series.
The Sufis are famous for their romantic poetry, some of which (that of Rumi, in particular) is famous even among Westerners who may never have heard the word "Sufi". The Western literary traditions of romanticism owe a great debt to the influence of Sufi romantic poetry, and particularly the practitioners of it who originated in Moorish Spain: the Troubadors.
Sufi love poetry can be beautiful when taken at face value -- as referencing the romantic bonds between human lovers, the worldly love of man and woman, the courtly love of a man for the Lady of the Manor, or simply the abstraction of Love as a personified force. But as with other Sufi materials, this romantic poetry functions on another level, reflecting the "creed of love" as Sufism is often described. Love is worship, and the Beloved is the Divine.
Rabia, who said "My Beloved is always with me", described the pain of separation from and the joy of reunion with the Divine in terms of separation from and longing for an absent lover - sometimes in rather direct terms:
"I pray God that you fall in love With someone as cold and indifferent as you are. Then you may understand The pain of love, the sufferings and tortures of separation, And you may appreciate my devotion."
Rumi described a similar sentiment in more subtle language:
In the early dawn of happiness you gave me three kisses
so that I would wake up
to this moment of loveI tried to remember in my heart
what I'd dreamt about
during the night
before I became aware
of this moving
of lifeI found my dreams
but the moon took me away
It lifted me up to the firmament
and suspended me there
I saw how my heart had fallen
on your path
singing a songBetween my love and my heart
things were happening which
slowly slowly
made me recall everythingYou amuse me with your touch
although I can't see your hands.
You have kissed me with tenderness
although I haven't seen your lips
You are hidden from me.But it is you who keeps me alive
Perhaps the time will come
when you will tire of kisses
I shall be happy
even for insults from you
I only ask that you
keep some attention on me.
There is more to Sufi love poetry than meets the eye.
Which among the Sufi poems prophecy or allude directly to the coming of the Glory of God, Baha'u'llah?
Being the Best-Beloved, the most precious Being to walk on the face of the Earth, there must be some poems relating to Him and His coming in the 1860's...
Eye opener, I think prophecy is a different depatment.