Sufi Poetry: Prophecy and the Persian Sufi Poets
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HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN was himself a poet and musician, uniquely qualified to talk about Sufi poetry from both an artistic and spiritual perspective. This slim book, simply entitled, Sufi Poetry, is a collection of talks by the master on the Persian Sufi poets and the mystical connection between poetry and prophecy. Although he also discusses poetry and some of the same themes in another collection, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, the talks in Sufi Poetry deal far more specifically with symbolism in Persian Sufi poetry and also give us a more detailed presentation of the works of the most famous Persian Sufi poets: Farid ad-Din Attar, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Muslih ad-Din Sa‘di, and Shams ad-Din Muhammad Hafiz.
Hazrat Inayat Khan
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN was born in India in 1882. A master of Indian classical music, he gave up a brilliant career as a musician to devote himself full-time to the spiritual path. In 1910, he was sent into the West by his spiritual teacher and began to teach Sufism in the United States, England, and throughout Europe. For a decade and a half he traveled tirelessly, giving lectures and guiding an ever-growing group of Western spiritual seekers. In 1926, he returned to India and died there the following year. Today, his universalist Sufi teachings continue to inspire countless people around the world and his spiritual heirs may be found in every corner of the planet.
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Book preview
Sufi Poetry - Hazrat Inayat Khan
Sufi Poetry
Prophecy and Persian Sufi Poetry
Gender Inclusive Edition
Adapted into Modern English
Hazrat
Pir-o-Murshid
Inayat Khan
Edited and Annotated by
Pir Netanel Miles-Yépez
Published by Albion-Andalus Books at Smashwords
Boulder, Colorado 2015
"The old shall be renewed,
and the new shall be made holy."
Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook
Copyright © 2015 Netanel Miles-Yépez
All rights reserved.
This ebook may not be re-sold or given away. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, except for brief passages in connection with a critical review, without permission in writing from the publisher:
Albion-Andalus, Inc.
P. O. Box 19852
Boulder, CO 80308
www.albionandalus.com
Cover design by Daryl McCool
Design and layout by Albion-Andalus Books
Rose-Heart and Wings
illustration
© 2008 Netanel Miles-Yépez
ISBN: 9781310177286
Contents
Editor’s Preface
The Poet and the Prophet
The Imagery of Sufi Poetry
The Persian Poets
Farid ad-Din Attar
The Seven Valleys
Jalal ad-Din Rumi
Muslih ad-Din Sa‘di
Shams ad-Din Muhammad Hafiz
Endnotes
Biography
Editor’s Preface
Hazrat Inayat Khan was himself a poet and musician, uniquely qualified to talk about Sufi poetry from both an artistic and spiritual perspective. This slim book, simply entitled, Sufi Poetry, is a collection of talks by the master on the Persian Sufi poets and the mystical connection between poetry and prophecy. Although he also discusses poetry and some of the same themes in another collection, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, the talks in Sufi Poetry deal far more specifically with symbolism in Persian Sufi poetry and also give us a more detailed presentation of the works of the most famous Persian Sufi poets: Farid ad-Din Attar, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Muslih ad-Din Sa‘di, and Shams ad-Din Muhammad Hafiz.
This edition of Sufi Poetry has been carefully re-edited and adapted from the original publication (found in the influential Sufi Message Series
) for clarity in modern English. It has also been made gender inclusive to prevent distortion of the original Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Although it was the convention in his own day to use the masculine personal pronoun in an inclusive sense, such use of patriarchal language is no longer considered representative of our current values and is sometimes off-putting to those who might otherwise be inspired by the beautiful and original teachings of the master. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that an adaptation like this one is necessarily an interpretation and liable to error. For this, I take full responsibility. Please know that I have approached the material with the utmost respect and have only made changes in the hope that the updated language and gender inclusivity would help to spread the Message of God far and wide.
Pir Netanel Mu‘in ad-Din, Boulder, Colorado, dedicated to my Sabiha, January 2nd, 2015, the birthday of Noor Inayat- Khan, and the day on which we read . . .
All names and forms
are garments and covers
under which the one life is hidden.
Sufi Poetry
Prophecy and Persian Sufi Poetry
The Poet and the Prophet
There is a saying, a poet is a prophet.
This is a saying of great significance and hidden meaning. There is no doubt that although poetry is not necessarily prophecy, prophecy is born in poetry. Poetry is a body adopted by the spirit of prophecy. Wagner says that noise is not necessarily music; the same can be said of poetry. A verse written in rhyme and meter is not necessarily true poetry. Poetry is an art, a music expressed in the beauty and harmony of words. Of course, much of the poetry one reads is written for amusement or recreation; but real poetry comes from the dancing of the soul. No one can make the soul dance unless the soul itself is inclined to dance. Likewise, no soul can dance which is not alive.
In the Bible, we are taught that no one will enter the kingdom of God
whose soul has not been born again.
[1] Being born again
refers to being alive. A cheerful disposition, or an external inclination to merriment, are not the only signs of a living soul. External joy and amusement may simply come through the external being of a person. However, even in this outer joy and happiness, there is sometimes a glimpse of inner joy and happiness, which is a sign of the soul having been born again.
What brings the soul to life?