Muḥammad Ibn Aḥmad Akansūs belongs to the most outstanding Moroccan writers of the 19th Century and was also very active in the social and political life of his times. He was a historian and religious writer, but in Morocco itself he is known above all as a poet, though his dīwān has not been edited until this day. Most of his poems are known from the works of other authors and from his own books devoted to history and religion. His most important work is without doubt the chronicle entitled Al-µayš al-ʻaramram al-ẖumāsī fi dawlat Mawlānā ʻAlī as-Siǧilmāsī (“Innumerable Fivefold Army or About the State of Our Lord ʻAlī as-Siǧilmāsī”). Furthermore he is the author of several treatises about Sufism (especially about the Tiǧāniyya brotherhood) and of an extensive collection of letters written to outstanding personalities of his times devoted mainly to religious problems. His historical, religious and literary output has until today not been presented in the West besides the book of É. Lévi-Provençal entitled Les historiens des chorfa. Essai sur la littérature historique et biographique au Maroc du XVIe au XXe siécle (Paris 1922).
This article describes the historical role of Sufism in the adoption of Islam by the Hulaguids and explains why Sufism was the easiest approach for the Mongol pagans.This study also further supports the assertion that Sufism was one of the most successful forms in which Islam spread. The Mongol rulers, having established central power in the cities of South Azerbaijan – Tabriz, Sultaniye, Maragha – nevertheless endured constant pressure from the Mongol nobility, which unlike the ruling Hulaguid dynasty formed a serious political opposition. To establish themselves in this territory, the Mongolrulers needed the support of the local Muslim population. The only way to ensure this support was to accept Islam as a state religion, which was done by Ghazan Khan. However, this process took time. The Islamic religion seemed too complicated to the Turko-Mongol pagans and shamanists. The most accessible form in which the Islamic religion could be perceived was thus Sufism, which appealed to them with its mystical elements, tales of miraculous healings, and even curses of Sufi sheikhs. In turn, the sheikhs of the Sufi orders sought friendly relations with the Hulaguid rulers in order to achieve their highest goal – the spread of Islam. In return, the Hulaguid rulers gave them much financial and moral support, which the Sufis enjoyed (as clearly indicated in the letters of Rashid al-Din Fadl-allah, most thoroughly studied by E. Browne at the beginning of the 20th century). It was obviously a multi-hued process, rich with interesting events and accompanied by vivid episodes related in sources. I have collected and used wide-ranging examples from a variety of sources and scholars in one article. I cite the works of Al-Juvaini, Mustouvi Kazvini, Rashid al-din Fadl-allah, Fadl-allah ibn Ruzbihan Khunji, Tawakkul ibn Bazzaz, together with research, editing and translation of these sources by modern scholars.
Most Western scholars define Sufism as the spirituality of Islam or the mystical version of Islam. It is thought to be the inward approach to Islam that emerged and flourished in the non-Arab parts of the Islamic world. Most scholars like William Stoddart think that Sufism is to Islam what Yoga is to Hinduism, Zen to Buddhism, and mysticism to Christianity. In this essay, I will shed light on the major lines and elements in the philosophy of Sufism. I will try to give a concrete account of Sufism by introducing its major features within the relevant Islamic tradition and history.
The Arab Spring created a new image of North Africa. Old conflicts were replaced by new ones. The best example of these changes was the renewal of the Sufi Salafi clash. It can be viewed not only as the result of the reinforcement of fundamentalist tendencies but also, and most of all, as a sudden rise of political Salafism. The Sufi Salafi conflict has been present for some time in the history of North Africa. However, after the Arab Spring, it became more violent. The earlier war of words, both written and spoken, was transformed into a real one, during which many Sufi zawiyas were destroyed. However, the sudden rise of political Salafism also led to a consolidation and an elicitation of Sufis that started building up political alliances in order to protect the rights of their community. The Sufi Salafi relations in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya will not follow the Sudanese casus, where the charismatic personality of Hassan al-Turabi helped in normalizing relations, without a further escalation of conflict. The failing of the political Salafism usually leads to further radicalization of the jihadi Salafism. It is highly possible that in future, especially if political Salafi organizations lose their influence, we will witness more acts against the Sufis and their places of worship.
The twisting paths of the sufis – the Turkic-Balkan motifs in the sufi ‘tariqa’ concept in selected examples of contemporary literary works The first part of this paper summarises how Sufi brotherhoods formed in the Balkans with some references to their Turkic-Ottoman sources. Islamic mystical movements constituted part of the Islamisation initiatives in the territories occupied by the Ottoman Empire: mystical teaching was apparently more successful among the local people than conservative Islam. Crypto-Christianism was a typical phenomenon among converted Slavs. Orders using the language of symbolic tales (like the Bektashi) involved some Christian rites. The orders which proved most popular were the Mevlevi, Naqshbandi, Chalwati and Bektashi, which are still active in some parts of the Balkans. Their role also reconciled the national thought of newly forming national identities in the Balkans. In the novels Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimović and Konak by Ćamil Sijarić, the mystical idea of the Arab tariqa (tarika), i.e. „path,” meets the modern literary concepts of fate and the search for truth and sense of life. The paper constitutes an attempt to present how these two aesthetics have been unwoven into modern literary texts. Kręte drogi sufich. Turecko-bałkańskie wątki sufickiej koncepcji „drogi” we współczesnej odsłonie (na wybranych przykładach literackich) Tekst jest próbą przybliżenia mistycznej koncepcji drogi tarika i jej realizacji przez różne bractwa sufickie (m.in. bektaszytów, mewlewitów, malamitów, chalwetytów, nakszbandytów), które z Anatolii rozprzestrzeniły się na Bałkany. Praca odwołuje się do znanych postaci derwiszy, zarówno tych z epoki literatury świętych podbojów islamu, jak i tych wykreowanych postaci zasłużonych derwiszy noszących cechy chrześcijańskich „świętych”. W części analitycznej tekst podejmuje interpretację współczesnych literackich kreacji ascetów i mistyków oraz realizowania przez nich koncepcji „drogi”. Służy temu analiza poszczególnych wątków z powieści Mešy Selimovicia Derwisz i śmierć i Sijaricia Ćamila Ja, eunuch. Całość jest próbą przyjrzenia się na wybranych przykładach, jak i czy współczesna literatura południowosłowiańska splata koncepcję literacką z filozofią mistycyzmu bałkańskiego, tworząc oryginalne, autorskie odsłony.
The article presents the impact of the Islamicate populations and literacies in Portuguese colonial literature and scholarship. The main ethnic group that focused the attention of the colonisers were the aggressive, dominant Fulani portrayed in the novels of Fausto Duarte, Auá and A Revolta. Their usages and traditions were studied by the first Portuguese ethnographers and ethnohistorians with almost satisfactory results. On the other hand, Islam in the oriental part of the Portuguese colonial empire (Mozambique) was much less understood. The Portuguese paid greater attention to the aggressive, jihadist movements in West Africa than to the relatively less conspicuous Sufi movements that developed in the port cities and islands along the East African coast. Overall, the process of Islamicization of the territories controlled by the Portuguese went on unhindered or even accelerated during the colonial period.
The article describes the religious situation in Daghestan, one of the north-Caucasian republics of Russia, focusing especially on the Islamic mysticism – Sufism. The introduction presents the geographical and ethnical situation of the Republic. The following chapters discuss the history of Islam in Caucasus which had started in Daghestan as well as the development of mystical brotherhoods and their profiles. The role of Islam and its mystical branch in contemporary Daghestan has been depicted in the conclusion.
In Norwid’s works one can find distant echoes of the Sufi concepts. One of the threads linking this Polish poet to the current of Muslim mysticism is his fascination with Hafiz’s Divan (and secondly – the person of Abd el-Kader) manifesting itself in Pisma wszystkie. The Persian poet and mystic is mentioned in the works of the Polish author five times (twice in letters and three times in poems: Assunta, Emil na Gozdawiu and A Dorio ad Phrygium). It is quite doubtful that Norwid became acquainted with philarete’s translations of Hafiz’s ghazals (Sękowski, Wiernikowski, Chodźko) in his pre-emigration (Warsaw) period. It was rather the full German translations of Divan (Purgstall and others) and numerous thematic references in the works of German Romantics (Goethe, Heine) that opened to him the gates to Hafiz’s world. Norwid could have been exposed to these during his stay in Berlin in 1846 while attending a query at the University Library there. It cannot be ruled out that also the reading of Emerson’s works during his American period (and later) could be his source of inspiration. The world of Hafiz’s lyric poetry could also spread open before Norwid owing to French translations, although their role was rather secondary, since in the 19th century they were relatively few (only 32 works were translated before Norwid’s death). The years of Parisian emigration provided many new opportunities to advance the know-ledge of Persian literature and culture. This was favoured not only by Norwid’s stay in Paris, but also by the presence, among Polish emigrants, of eminent iranologists with whom Norwid was in touch: Aleksander Chodźko and Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski (he worked together with Norwid’s cousin Michał Kleczkowski at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The height of Norwid fascination with Hafiz was in the 1870s, although many facts indicate that Promethidion might already have been inspired by Hafiz. The Sufi “alchemy of love” permeating the stanzas of Hafiz’s Divan found its reflection primarily in Assunta. Norwid took the motto for this poem probably from the French translation of A Grammar of the Persian Language by William Jones (translated by Garcin de Tassy in 1845), in which the couplet was among the examples of Persian syntax (the ghazal in which this couplet originated, was still not fully translated into French). In turn, the epigraph for Emil na Gozdawiu is probably a paraphrase of the ghazal translated into French by the same Jones and included in his Treatise on Oriental Poetry as Ode V. The choice of the epigraph to Emil... testifies to Norwid’s affiliation with an elite group of 19th-century erudite people who were able to get access to the religious dimension of the poetry by Hafiz, which generally remained hidden for the European readers of Divan at that time. A particularly original idea of the Polish poet was the evocation of a text from the area of cultural Islam (and not Christianity!) for polemics with the Rousseauean secular model of upbringing, and the juxtaposition of the secularised European mentality with the deep, unshakable religious sense of the Orient.
In this article, I examine the role of Sufism (and Sufi leaders) as they relate to anti-colonial political and military resistance movements. Sufism is often viewed as a non-violent and non-political branch of Islam. However, I argue that there are many historical examples to illustrate the presence of anti-colonialist Sufi military movements throughout the “Muslim World,” and I give particular attention to the cases of ‘Abd al-Qadir of the Qadiriyya movement and his anti-colonialist rebellion against France in Algeria in the 1800s, as well as that of Italian colonialism in Libya and the military response by the Sanussi order. Thus, while Sufism clearly has various teachings and principles that could be interpreted to promote non-violence, Sufi political movements have also developed as a response to colonialism and imperialism, and thus, one should not automatically assume a necessary separation from Sufism and notions of military resistance.
The article aims to briefly describe the cultural context and philosophical heritage of the Han Kitab literature. It also introduces the reader to the thought of China’s arguably most eloquent and innovative Sino-Islamic scholar, Liu Zhi. Liu’s multidimensional concepts are deeply rooted in the Chinese philosophical tradition (Confucianism, Legalism, Buddhism) while simultaneously borrowing heavily from the theology of Sufi Islam. The author aims to decode these diverse influences by focusing on a single concept – fa.
The paper characterizes the oral tradition of the Yezidis with particular emphasis on their sacred hymns (Qewls). In the Yezidi religion, Qewls play a role similar to that of the holy books known in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Because of the strict taboo on literacy, which was in force for centuries, the Yezidi hymns occupy a central place in the transmission of religious lore, they are also the oldest artefacts of the Yezidi poetic, metaphysical, theological and ethical tradition. The article is based on the author’s field research and interviews with the Yezidi experts in religious poetry in Iraq, Turkey and the South Caucasus. The paper is also an introduction to the first Polish edition, translation and commentary of two Yezidi hymns—Qewlê Zebûnî Meksûr and Qewlê Bê û Elîf—which belong to the group of the highly-respected Yezidi sacred hymns.
Статья посвящена жизни и деятельности суфия из Средней Азии Наджм ад-дина Кубра. Описывается в ней жизнь, которая позднее сформировала яркого представителя исламского мистицизма. Большое внимание уделяется вопросам, связанным с учением суфия (например, о зикре), а также описанию теории цвета («латаиф»), чрезвычайно важной для учеников Наджм ад-дина Кубра. Внимание также акцентировано на влиянии учения ад-дина Кубра (какие братства черпали из мудрости мистика) и на то, как оно веками адаптировалось в общественной и политической жизни.
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The article presents the life and the activity of the Sufiand Central Asia - Najm ad-Din Kubra. The paper describes the life that formed the later master of Islamic mysticism. Much emphasis was placed on the issues related to the teachings of the Sufi(e.g. about zikr) and the on the description of the color theory (Latoif), extremely important for students of Kubra. Attention was also paid to the effects of the teachings of ad-Din Kubra (which the brotherhoods drew from the wisdom of the mystic) and how they adapted in society and politics over the centuries.
Sema, rytuał identyfikowany z zakonem wirujących derwiszy, znany również jako Religia Miłości, stworzona przez Caaleddina Rumiego Mevlane, od wieków przyciąga uwagę ludzi z wszelkich zakątków świata. Zakon wirujących derwiszy w ostatnich latach zdobywa szczególną popularność, pozyskując kolejnych zwolenników w krajach Zachodu, gdzie ich aktywność zdaje się być coraz lepiej widoczna. Sema, mistyczny taniec rytualny, zapoczątkowany w XIII wieku, przedstawia duchową podróż człowieka poprzez jego umysł i miłość do Perfekcji. Zakon Rumiego Mevlany jest jednym z najlepiej znanych zakonów sufickich. Wyjątkowy, z uwagi na szczególny stosunek filozofa do postaci kobiety w islamie. Mevlana akceptował wśród swych słuchaczy zarówno mężczyzn jak i kobiety, twierdząc, że istotną jest dusza, nie ciało. Nauczał, że wszyscy ludzie są równi oraz zjednani w swej wierze i miłości. Wiele kobiet, wybrało filozofię Mevlany, biorąc czynny udział w mistycznych rytuałach semy, dążących do „Jedności z Bogiem”, będąc przekonanymi, że odnalazły swoje miejsce w świecie islamu. Kobiety, odgrywające szczególnie istotną role w upowszechnianiu filozofii RumiegoMevlany, znane są nam dziś jako poetki, muzycy, jak również, jak dowodzą źródła, suficcy mistrzowie, stając się „głosem” kobiecej społeczności.
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Sema ritual identified with Rumi Mevlana’s order, known as Mevlevi Religion of Love, has been attracting people from different cultures from all over the world for centuries. Mevlevi followers are noticeably growing in number in the West, where their great engagement is well visible. Sema, which is a mystic dancing ritual known from the 13th century, represents man’s spiritual journey to Perfection through mind and love. Mevlevi as one of the most-known Sufi orders was exceptional for Rumi’s recognition of spiritual beauty and wisdom of women. Mevlana was accepting and teaching men and women alike, as he said that it is not the body but the soul that is important. He taught that all humans are equal and are united in their faith and love. Many female Sufis decided to fallow Mevlana’s teachings practicing sema that aims at “Unity with God”, truly convinced that they found their place within Islamic world. Women, who had noticeable role in the process of spreading this mystical concept have been playing multiple roles, i.e.: poets, musicians, and sometimes even pirs, becoming “the voice” of feminine Muslim society
Sema ritual identified with Rumi Mevlana’s order, known as Mevlevi Religion of Love, has been attracting people from different cultures from all over the world for centuries. Mevlevi followers are noticeably growing in number in the West, where their great engagement is well visible. Sema, which is a mystic dancing ritual known from the 13th century, represents man’s spiritual journey to Perfection through mind and love. Mevlevi as one of the most-known Sufi orders was exceptional for Rumi’s recognition of spiritual beauty and wisdom of women. Mevlana was accepting and teaching men and women alike, as he said that it is not the body but the soul that is important. He taught that all humans are equal and are united in their faith and love. Many female Sufis decided to fallow Mevlana’s teachings practicing sema that aims at “Unity with God”, truly convinced that they found their place within Islamic world. Women, who had noticeable role in the process of spreading this mystical concept have been playing multiple roles, i.e.: poets, musicians, and sometimes even pirs, becoming “the voice” of feminine Muslim society.
EN
Sema, rytuał identyfikowany z zakonem wirujących derwiszy, znany również jako Religia Miłości, stworzona przez Caaleddina Rumiego Mevlane, od wieków przyciąga uwagę ludzi z wszelkich zakątków świata. Zakon wirujących derwiszy w ostatnich latach zdobywa szczególną popularność, pozyskując kolejnych zwolenników w krajach Zachodu, gdzie ich aktywność zdaje się być coraz lepiej widoczna. Sema, mistyczny taniec rytualny, zapoczątkowany w XIII wieku, przedstawia duchową podróż człowieka poprzez jego umysł i miłość do Perfekcji. Zakon Rumiego Mevlany jest jednym z najlepiej znanych zakonów sufickich. Wyjątkowy z uwagi na szczególny stosunek filozofa do postaci kobiety w islamie. Mevlana akceptował wśród swych słuchaczy zarówno mężczyzn, jak i kobiety, twierdząc, że istotną jest dusza, nie ciało. Nauczał, że wszyscy ludzie są równi oraz zjednani w swej wierze i miłości. Wiele kobiet wybrało filozofię Mevlany, biorąc czynny udział w mistycznych rytuałach semy, dążących do „Jedności z Bogiem”, będąc przekonanymi, że odnalazły swoje miejsce w świecie islamu. Kobiety, odgrywające szczególnie istotną role w upowszechnianiu filozofii Rumiego Mevlany, znane są nam dziś jako poetki, muzycy, jak również, jak dowodzą źródła, suficcy mistrzowie, stając się „głosem” kobiecej społeczności.
Wielowiekowa tradycja osadnictwa tatarskiego na ziemiach polskich sprawiła, że w powszechnym odczuciu „polski islam” to jedynie Tatarzy. Utrzymanie własnej religii, praktyka religijna, sakramenty oraz imponujące tradycje wojskowe utwierdzały Tatarów w poczuciu własnej odrębności. Ta odrębność stała się z czasem powodem zazdrości o własną tradycję i nieufności w stosunku do innych muzułmanów w Polsce. A tych, szczególnie po przemianach ustrojowych, zaczęło przybywać w sposób znaczący. Zaktywizowali się imigranci z „krajów muzułmańskich”, ujawnił się ruch suficki. Jak w tym wszystkim odnalazła się islamska mniejszość szyicka? Skupieni w Stowarzyszeniu Jedności Muzułmańskiej szyici – Polacy, nie oderwali się od własnych, polskich korzeni. Założony przy SJM Instytut Muzułmański, aspirujący do roli nieoficjalnej placówki naukowej i duża aktywność liderów Stowarzyszenia, otwartych na dialog międzyreligijny, doprowadziły do tego, że stało się SJM jednym ze znaczących islamskich związków wyznaniowych. Z początkiem nowego wieku uległy także poprawie relacje pomiędzy muzułmańskimi organizacjami religijnymi, które w wielu aspektach wcześniej, odnosiły się do siebie z dużą rezerwą.
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Centuries-old traditions of Tatar settlement on Polish soil resulted in a common opinion that “Polish Islam” consists only of Tatars. Maintenance of their own religion, religious practice, the sacraments and the impressive military traditions of Tatars strengthened a sense of their own distinct identity. This distinction became over time the envy of their own tradition and mistrust in relation to other Muslims in Poland. And those “others”, especially after the change of political system, started to grow significantly. Immigrants from “Muslim countries” became more active and the Sufi movement appeared. How all this affected an Islamic Shiite minority? United in the Association of Muslim Shiites – Poles have not broken off from their own Polish roots. Founded by SJM Muslim Institute, aspiring to the role of unofficial research institution and high activity of the leaders of the Association, open to interreligious dialogue, they all led to the SJM becoming one of the major Islamic religious organizations. The beginning of the new century saw an improvement of relations among Muslim religious organizations, which in many respects earlier, related to each other with great reserve.
The aim of the study The rise of Islam in the Balkans-the Bektashi Order was to map the development of this religion in this region. This study explains at the beginning the basic principles of Islam, its spread in the Balkan region with an important focus on the efforts of Albanians not to submit to the Ottoman Empire, and informs why Albanians decided to accept Islam through different orders, but mainly through the Bektashi Order that is still very influential in Albania. My initial effort was to present the most accurate knowledge of this order and their teachings, their customs, hierarchy and history in the territory where the Albanian population lived and lives.
W twórczości Norwida odnaleźć można dalekie echa koncepcji sufickich. Jedną z nici wiążących tego polskiego poetę z nurtem muzułmańskiego mistycyzmu jest manifestująca się w Pismach wszystkich fascynacja Dywanem Hafiza (drugą – osoba Abd el-Kadera). Perski poeta-mistyk jest wspominany w dziełach polskiego autora pięć razy (dwa razy w listach oraz trzy razy w poematach: Assunta, Emil na Gozdawiu oraz A Dorio ad Phrygium). Jest dość wątpliwe, by w okresie przedemigracyjnym (warszawskim) Norwid zapoznał się z filareckimi przekładami gazelów Hafiza (Sękowski, Wiernikowski, Chodźko). Bramy do świata Hafizowskiego otworzyły przed nim raczej dopiero pełne niemieckie tłumaczenia Dywanu (Purgstall i inni) oraz liczne nawiązania tematyczne w utworach niemieckich romantyków (Goethe, Heine). Okazją do zetknięcia z nimi był pobyt Norwida w Berlinie w roku 1846 i kwerendy w tamtejszej Bibliotece Uniwersyteckiej. Niewykluczone, że rolę bodźca odegrała też amerykańska (i późniejsza) lektura dzieł Emersona. Świat liryki Hafizowskiej otwierały przed autorem Assunty także przekłady francuskie, choć tym przypaść musiała raczej rola drugorzędna, gdyż w wieku XIX były one stosunkowo nieliczne (przełożono zaledwie 32 utwory do śmierci Norwida). Lata emigracji paryskiej dostarczyły wielu nowych okazji, by pogłębić wiedzę o literaturze i kulturze Persji. Sprzyjał temu nie tylko sam pobyt w Paryżu, ale i obecność w gronie polskich emigrantów, wybitych iranologów, z którymi Norwid się stykał: Aleksandra Chodźki i Wojciecha Biberstein-Kazimirskiego (ten pracował z kuzynem Norwida – Michałem Kleczkowskim we francuskim MSZ). Apogeum fascynacji Norwida Hafizem przypadło na lata 70., choć wiele poszlak zdaje się wskazywać na Hafizowski patronat już nad Promethidionem. Suficka „alchemia miłości”, przenikająca strofy Dywanu Hafiza, znalazła odblask przede wszystkim w Assuncie. Motto do tego poematu zaczerpnął Norwid zapewne z francuskiego przekładu A Grammar of the Persian Language Williama Jonesa (tłum. Garciana de Tassy z 1845 r.), w której dwuwiersz ów znalazł się pośród przykładów perskiej składni (gazel, z którego pochodzi ów dystych, nie był jeszcze wówczas w całości przetłumaczony na francuski). Z kolei motto do Emila na Gozdawiu jest prawdopodobnie parafrazą gazelu przełożonego na język francuski przez tegoż Jonesa i zamieszczonego w jego Traktacie o poezji orientalnej jako Oda V. Wybór motta do Emila… świadczy o przynależności Norwida do elitarnej grupy XIX-wiecznych erudytów, którzy umieli dotrzeć do religijnego wymiaru poezji Hafiza, umykającego na ogół ówczesnym europejskim czytelnikom Dywanu. Szczególnie oryginalnym pomysłem polskiego poety było przywołanie tekstu z obszaru kulturowego islamu (a nie chrześcijaństwa!) dla potrzeb polemiki z russowskim laickim modelem wychowania oraz przeciwstawienie zsekularyzowanej mentalności europejskiej głębokiego, niewzruszonego zmysłu religijnego Orientu.
EN
In Norwid’s works one can find distant echoes of the Sufi concepts. One of the threads linking this Polish poet to the current of Muslim mysticism is his fascination with Hafiz’s Divan (and secondly – the person of Abd el-Kader) manifesting it self in Pisma wszystkie. The Persian poet and mystic is mentioned in the works of the Polish author five times (twice in letters and three times in poems: Assunta, Emil na Gozdawiu and A Dorio ad Phrygium). It is quite doubtful that Norwid became acquainted with philarete’s translations of Hafiz’sghazals (Sękowski, Wiernikowski, Chodźko) in his pre-emigration (Warsaw) period. It was rather the full German translations of Divan (Purgstall and others) and numerous thematic references in the works of German Romantics (Goethe, Heine) that opened to him the gates to Hafiz’s world. Norwid could have been exposed to these during his stay in Berlin in 1846 while attending a query at the University Library there. It cannot be ruled out that also the reading of Emerson’s works during his American period (and later) was a kind of stimulus. The world of Hafiz’s lyric poetry could also spread open before Norwid owing to French translations, although their role was rather secondary, since in the 19th century they were relatively few (only 32 works were translated before Norwid’s death). The years of Parisian emigration provided many new opportunities to advance the know-ledge of Persian literature and culture. This was favoured not only by the stay in Paris, but also by the presence among Polish emigrants of eminent iranologists with whom Norwid was in touch: Aleksander Chodźko and Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski (he worked together with Norwid’s cousin Michał Kleczkowski at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The height of Norwid fascination with Hafiz was in the 1870s, although many facts indicate that Promethidion could already be inspired by Hafiz. The Sufi “alchemy of love” permeating the stanzas of Hafiz’s Divan found its reflection primarily in Assunta. Norwid took the motto for this poem probably from the French translation of A Grammar of the Persian Language by William Jones (translated by Garcin de Tassyin 1845), in which the couplet was among the examples of Persian syntax (the ghazelin which this couplet originated, was still not fully translated into French). In turn, the motto for Emil na Gozdawie is probably a paraphrase of the ghazel translated into French by the same Jones and included in his Treaty on Oriental Poetry as Ode V. The choice of the motto to Emil... testifies to Norwid’s affiliation with an elite group of 19th-century erudites who were able to get access to the religious dimension of the poetry by Hafiz, which generally remained hidden for the European readers of Divan at that time. A particularly original idea of the Polish poet was the evocation of a text from the area of cultural Islam (and not Christianity!) for the needs of polemics with the Rousseau eansecular model of upbringing, and the juxtaposition of the secularised European mentality with the deep, unshakable religious sense of the Orient.
Philosophical discourse in Islam revolves around God, and God’s manifestation in the world. This article attempts to describe the philosophical concept, and especially the Sufi concept, of God. For Muslim philosophers the question “how does unity give rise to multiplicity?” had a crucial meaning. In Islam God is One, and everything else is two or more. The Oneness of being remains inaccessible to people. However, Sufis tried to give an answer to the question “What is Reality? What is the ‘face of God’, and what does this notion really mean?” And also “what veils separate Him from His creation?” Sufis tried to find the answer to all these questions not in the calm of a library but in deep religious experience. Because God in His mercy revealed the Laws in order that people would be able to make choices which lead directly to their felicity in the next stage of their experience. This was a difficult and dangerous process, and it required from neophytes a love of God. In their searches, the Sufis try to answer the question of what one sees when one throws off the inhibiting shackles of the mind and senses, what does one feel when one crosses the border of the phenomenal world? What kind of world does one observe when one wakes up from a dream which is life? What does one see in the state of illumination?
Islam, a zwłaszcza mistycyzm muzułmański – sufizm, wypracował własną antropologię ściśle sprzężoną z teologią. W artykule próbuję odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy w sufickiej antropologii da się odnaleźć wątki analogiczne do mocno osadzonych w kulturze i filozofii chrześcijańskiej takich zjawisk jak personalizm i indywidualizm. Jako materiał do analiz posłużyła mi myśl wybitnego średniowiecznego arabskiego sufickiego mistyka, Ibn’Arabiego (1165-1240), który rozwinął interesującą koncepcję Człowieka Doskonałego oraz stworzył oryginalną teorię poznania metafizycznego opartą na wyobraźni. Próbuję dowieść, że pewne podobieństwa i analogie nie dają mocnych podstaw do traktowania Ibn’Arabiego teorii człowieka jako personalizmu, indywidualizmu czy nawet ścisłego holizmu.
EN
Islam and especially Muslim mysticism, that is Sufism, worked out its own anthropology strictly connected to its theology. In the paper I try to answer a question if one may find in the sufi anthropology issues similar to problems of personalism and individualism which are firmly embedded in Christian culture and philosophy. As a good example of Muslim thought I use a work of distinguished medieval Sufi Master – Ibn’Arabi (1165-1240) who developed an interesting conception of the Perfect Man and invented an original theory of metaphysical cognition based on imagination. I argue that there are not good reasons, in spite of some similarities and analogies, to consider Ibn’Arabi’s theories of man as personalism, individualism or even strict holism.
W twórczości Norwida odnaleźć można dalekie echa koncepcji sufickich. Jedną z nici wiążących tego polskiego poetę z nurtem muzułmańskiego mistycyzmu jest manifestująca się w Pismach wszystkich fascynacja Dywanem Hafiza (drugą – osoba Abd el-Kadera). Perski poeta-mistyk jest wspominany w dziełach polskiego autora pięć razy (dwa razy w listach oraz trzy razy w poematach: Assunta, Emil na Gozdawiu oraz A Dorio ad Phrygium). Jest dość wątpliwe, by w okresie przedemigracyjnym (warszawskim) Norwid zapoznał się z filareckimi przekładami gazelów Hafiza (Sękowski, Wiernikowski, Chodźko). Bramy do świata Hafizowskiego otworzyły przed nim raczej dopiero pełne niemieckie tłumaczenia Dywanu (Purgstall i inni) oraz liczne nawiązania tematyczne w utworach niemieckich romantyków (Goethe, Heine). Okazją do zetknięcia z nimi był pobyt Norwida w Berlinie w roku 1846 i kwerendy w tamtejszej Bibliotece Uniwersyteckiej. Niewykluczone, że rolę bodźca odegrała też amerykańska (i późniejsza) lektura dzieł Emersona. Świat liryki Hafizowskiej otwierały przed autorem Assunty także przekłady francuskie, choć tym przypaść musiała raczej rola drugorzędna, gdyż w wieku XIX były one stosunkowo nieliczne (przełożono zaledwie 32 utwory do śmierci Norwida). Lata emigracji paryskiej dostarczyły wielu nowych okazji, by pogłębić wiedzę o literaturze i kulturze Persji. Sprzyjał temu nie tylko sam pobyt w Paryżu, ale i obecność w gronie polskich emigrantów, wybitych iranologów, z którymi Norwid się stykał: Aleksandra Chodźki i Wojciecha Biberstein-Kazimirskiego (ten pracował z kuzynem Norwida – Michałem Kleczkowskim we francuskim MSZ). Apogeum fascynacji Norwida Hafizem przypadło na lata 70., choć wiele poszlak zdaje się wskazywać na Hafizowski patronat już nad Promethidionem. Suficka „alchemia miłości”, przenikająca strofy Dywanu Hafiza, znalazła odblask przede wszystkim w Assuncie. Motto do tego poematu zaczerpnął Norwid zapewne z francuskiego przekładu A Grammar of the Persian Language Williama Jonesa (tłum. Garciana de Tassy z 1845 r.), w której dwuwiersz ów znalazł się pośród przykładów perskiej składni (gazel, z którego pochodzi ów dystych, nie był jeszcze wówczas w całości przetłumaczony na francuski). Z kolei motto do Emila na Gozdawiu jest prawdopodobnie parafrazą gazelu przełożonego na język francuski przez tegoż Jonesa i zamieszczonego w jego Traktacie o poezji orientalnej jako Oda V. Wybór motta do Emila… świadczy o przynależności Norwida do elitarnej grupy XIX-wiecznych erudytów, którzy umieli dotrzeć do religijnego wymiaru poezji Hafiza, umykającego na ogół ówczesnym europejskim czytelnikom Dywanu. Szczególnie oryginalnym pomysłem polskiego poety było przywołanie tekstu z obszaru kulturowego islamu (a nie chrześcijaństwa!) dla potrzeb polemiki z russowskim laickim modelem wychowania oraz przeciwstawienie zsekularyzowanej mentalności europejskiej głębokiego, niewzruszonego zmysłu religijnego Orientu.
EN
In Norwid’s works one can find distant echoes of the Sufi concepts. One of the threads linking this Polish poet to the current of Muslim mysticism is his fascination with Hafiz’s Divan (and secondly – the person of Abd el-Kader) manifesting itself in Pisma wszystkie. The Persian poet and mystic is mentioned in the works of the Polish author five times (twice in letters and three times in poems: Assunta, Emil na Gozdawiu and A Dorio ad Phrygium). It is quite doubtful that Norwid became acquainted with philarete’s translations of Hafiz’s ghazals (Sękowski, Wiernikowski, Chodźko) in his pre-emigration (Warsaw) period. It was rather the full German translations of Divan (Purgstall and others) and numerous thematic references in the works of German Romantics (Goethe, Heine) that opened to him the gates to Hafiz’s world. Norwid could have been exposed to these during his stay in Berlin in 1846 while attending a query at the University Library there. It cannot be ruled out that also the reading of Emerson’s works during his American period (and later) could be his source of inspiration. The world of Hafiz’s lyric poetry could also spread open before Norwid owing to French translations, although their role was rather secondary, since in the 19th century they were relatively few (only 32 works were translated before Norwid’s death). The years of Parisian emigration provided many new opportunities to advance the know-ledge of Persian literature and culture. This was favoured not only by Norwid’s stay in Paris, but also by the presence, among Polish emigrants, of eminent iranologists with whom Norwid was in touch: Aleksander Chodźko and Wojciech Biberstein-Kazimirski (he worked together with Norwid’s cousin Michał Kleczkowski at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The height of Norwid fascination with Hafiz was in the 1870s, although many facts indicate that Promethidion might already have been inspired by Hafiz. The Sufi “alchemy of love” permeating the stanzas of Hafiz’s Divan found its reflection primarily in Assunta. Norwid took the motto for this poem probably from the French translation of A Grammar of the Persian Language by William Jones (translated by Garcin de Tassy in 1845), in which the couplet was among the examples of Persian syntax (the ghazal in which this couplet originated, was still not fully translated into French). In turn, the epigraph for Emil na Gozdawiu is probably a paraphrase of the ghazal translated into French by the same Jones and included in his Treatise on Oriental Poetry as Ode V. The choice of the epigraph to Emil... testifies to Norwid’s affiliation with an elite group of 19th-century erudite people who were able to get access to the religious dimension of the poetry by Hafiz, which generally remained hidden for the European readers of Divan at that time. A particularly original idea of the Polish poet was the evocation of a text from the area of cultural Islam (and not Christianity!) for polemics with the Rousseauean secular model of upbringing, and the juxtaposition of the secularised European mentality with the deep, unshakable religious sense of the Orient.
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