International Mevlana Symposiuın Papers

,. Birleşmiş Minetler 2007 Eğitim, Bilim ve Kültür MevlAnA CelAleddin ROmi Kurumu 800. ~um Yıl Oönümü United Nations Educaöonal, Scientific and aoo:ı Anniversary of Cu/tura! Organlzatlon the Birth of Rumi

Symposium organization commitlee Prof. Dr. Mahmut Erol Kılıç (President) Celil Güngör Volume 3 Ekrem Işın Nuri Şimşekler Motto Project Publication Tugrul İnançer

Istanbul, June 20 ı O ISBN 978-605-61104-0-5

Editors Mahmut Erol Kılıç Celil Güngör Mustafa Çiçekler Katkıda bulunanlar Bülent Katkak Muttalip Görgülü Berrin Öztürk Nazan Özer Ayla İlker Mustafa İsmet Saraç Asude Alkaylı Turgut Nadir Aksu Gülay Öztürk Kipmen YusufKat Furkan Katkak Berat Yıldız Yücel Daglı Book design Ersu Pekin Graphic application Kemal Kara

Publishing Motto Project, 2007 Mtt İletişim ve Reklam Hizmetleri Şehit Muhtar Cad. Tan Apt. No: 13 1 13 Taksim 1 İstanbul Tel: (212) 250 12 02 Fax: (212) 250 12 64 www.mottoproject.com 8-12 Mayıs 2007 Bu kitap, tarihinde Kültür ve yayirı[email protected] Turizm Bakanlıgı himayesinde ve Başbakanlık Tamtma Fonu'nun katkılanyla İstanbul ve Konya'da Printing Mas Matbaacılık A.Ş. düzerılenen Uluslararası Mevhiııfı Sempozyumu bildirilerini içermektedir. Hamidiye Mahallesi, Soguksu Caddesi, No. 3 Kagıtlıane - İstanbul The autlıors are responsible for tlıe content of tlıe essays .. Tei. 0212 294 10 00 Jalaluddin Rumi in southeast Asia

Nasir Tamara 1 lndonesia

lN SOUTI-IEAST Asia of to day, the interest on spiritualism is on the rise especially in many major cities. This paper will talk on the lslamic mysticism, the Sufism, particularly the teaching of Jalaluddin Rumi who was bom 800 hundred years ago in Balkh, Afghanistan. The year of 2007 has been declared the "Year of Rumi" by UNESCO. Most ofRumi's writing was in Farsi, a major Islamic language that was spo­ ken largely in the past in the Muslim world in Asia. And unfortunately not any­ more, as has become more prominent. Unfortunately only very little of Rumi's works are translated in Arabic. In modern times, it was Mohammad Iqbal, a Muslim leader from Pakistan, India then, who through his writings in European language, English and German those make many Muslim in Southeast Asia, who do not understand Farsi or Arabic, know about Jalaluddin Rumi. Later, scholars and poets from western countries, mostly non Muslim, have translated Rumi's work into many different European languages. An Arnerican poet has rewritten existing English language translation into new verses that was love by the American. According to a report, Rumi now is the most famous poet in Arnerica. Nowadays, Jalaluddin Rumi's many works are translated in Malay and Indonesian in Muslim countries of Southeast Asia. Not only by , but alsa by Hindus such as Anand K.rishna in who has translated almost all of 6 volume of Mastnawi, the most im portant Sufis treaty of Rumi in Indonesian. Music groups have alsa created songs and music based on Rumi's teaching. The most famous are Dewa and Debu from , Indonesia. Many Sufis adept have alsa practiced the whirling dance of Rumi. People of different religions 1528 have also created a theatrical performance of some of Rumi's teaclıing. Individuals read his poem. In his voluminous works, Maulana Rumi speaks of God, man and the world and the interrelations between them. But monotheism, believe on God is the

1 basic teaching of Rumi. \ Tlıere are three dimensions of Sufi teaching: the Law (ilm, knowledge, the­ ory), the Way (amal, the work, practise), and the Truth (attainment to God, spir­ itual realization). Rumi teaches people the spiritual realization, or the ascending stages of human perfection resulting in proximity to Go d, a third dimension that was not explicitly explained in Qur'an and Hadith. Rumi teaches millions of people how to love God in spiritual way. And Rumi also teaches people about God who love His creations. It was no langer about reward and punislıment, about hell and paradise. But about a loving God. Tlıere are many Sufi gurus in Islamic world. But the teaclıing of Rumi is unique in the sense of his emphasis on love, peace and tolerance among people of different religions. It is also unique because of Rumi practiced and loves for poetry, music, dancing, painting and the arts in general. In this contemporary world full of violence and conflicts of civilization, war and terrorism, the peacefullove message of Rumi appeal to people, across boundary of religion, race and color of skin. Although the Sufism is a long tradition intheMalay language spiritual lit- erature however we have not found a text canceming Jalaluddin Rumi. We must look into Javanese language to find the story of Jalaluddin Rumi in Muslim Southeast Asia. And we will find that the greatest Muslim Royal fam­ ily of Java was part of a larger international Islamic Sufi community. The eldest document found on Jalaluddin Rumi in Java was written in ı 730 attributed to the Queen Ratu Pakubuwana of Java, an exceptional woman, who was author of many Sufis works. The work titled Seh Samsu Tabred was in verse version metered in Asmaradana in a single canto of 30 stanzas. The text is part of mqjor teaclıing curriculum to tea ch the basic Islami c reli­ gious and spiritual teaclıing and the art of leadership for the young King Pakubuwana II (r. ı 726- ı 749) who became a King when he was only ı 6 years old. His grandmother, the wife of Pakubuwana I (r. ı 704- ı 7 ı9) Ratu Pakubuwa­ na (d. ı 732), a pious and mystical Muslim had a very big influence on the edu­ cation and in shaping the behavior of the King. As a Muslim mystic monarclı later the King Pakubuwana II went to Holy W ar against the Dutch colonial power.

Nasir Tamara Jalaluddiız Rumi in sout/zeast Asia The long text written under the auspice of Ratu Pakubuwana is Kitab Usulbiyah followed by 5 shorter texts which are Suluk Garwa Kan cana, Gita Sifat Nabi, Seh Samsu Tabred, Caritaning Nabi Ihrahim and Caritaning Nabi Enuh. The first short text means 'the song of the attributes of the Prophet' is a biography of exemplary life of Prophet Muhammad SAW. The second text is the object of our article, we will talk lengthy. The third text 'the story of Prophet Abraham' that was willing to sacrifice his own son Ishmael to obey God's instruction. The forth text 'the story of Prophet Noah' tells the story of punish­ ment for human disobedience through the creation of flood that killed the infi­ dels and how the prophet saved the life of his loyal followers. The fifth text 'the song of the house of gold' is a text par exeellence on doctrines of kingship and the Sufi philosophy of Sultan Agung, the founder of the first grand Muslim Kingdoru of Java, Mataram Allother story related to Jalaluddin Rumi is in verse redaction, in Gambuh metre, found by a Dutch scholar G. W. J. Drewes {Drewes 6 Jakarta) who pub­ lished an article about the subject. In his text Jalaluddin Rumi was mentioned as a King as well as a teaeber (mulana Rum amir aji, amir aji Rum) in his dialog with Sjamsi Tabriz. In form ofprose, the oldest story of Jalaluddin Rumi is called Caritanira Seh Samsu Tabred. The document is now kept in India Calleetion Office in London. The text is believed belong to Prince Purbaya of Java who lived in Kartasura from 1727 to 1738. In the Javanised name, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi became Mulana Rumi. (MR, p. 205). In Se h Samsu Tabred story, Sjamsi Tabriz is javanized as Samsu Tabred. He was a child gifted with ultimate mystical knowledge. In a mosque in Mecca, Arabia, on a Friday he had a dialog with Jalaluddin Rumi and other eminent fig­ ures of Islam. Although stili a child, Samsu Tabred had a superior knowledge compared to already known ulama Mulana Rumi and others. So Rumi took Samsu Tabred as his spiritual teacher. According to Sjamsi Tabriz, aka Samsu Tabred in Java: "he is the begin­ ning and the end, inner and outer". He was also the four stages of the Sufi path: the law {shari'ah, sarengat), the mystical way {tarekat), reality {hakikat, khakekat) and gnosis {makrifat). Furthermore he said: "God am I, yea I am Muhammad; I am the seeret of God; the seeret of Muhammad am I". 1530 Samsu Tabred also told Rumi: 26. Sifatullah ingsun iki. Pan ingsung Afengalulah. Pan ingsun kang kalek reko. Ingsung kang makeluk ika. Ingsung kang ngalif iku. Lam alif ma pan ya ingsun ...

r \ Translation

26. 'The attributes of God am I. For I am the works of God. For I am the creator, And I am the created. I am alif; Lam-alif am I'.

Java as a fertile ground for Sufism

It took many centuries before the teaching or Jalaluddin Rumi (b. AD 1207) who was bom in Balkb, part of Khorasan Iran, then, came to Java. From so many works attributed to Rumi, who later moved to Konya, Turkey, until now only 500fo are known by non Farsi speaking people. Jalaluddin Rumi was an established Islamicjurist (ulama) anda Sufi taught by his own father Baha' Walad and Burhan al-Din Tirmidhi before his meeting with Shams al-Din of Tabriz came to Konya in 1244. The meeting with the enigmatic figure transformed Rumi's life. He wrote: "I was the country's sober ascetic, I used to teach from the pulpit- but des­ tiny made me one of Thy hand-clapping lovers" (D 22784). He continued: "My hand always used to hold a Koran, but now it holds Love's flagon. My mouth was filled with glorification, but now it recites only poetry and songs." (D 24875-76) In Seh Samsu Tabred we were shown the dialog between Rumi and his new teacher Shamsi Tabriz. That was a conversation that transformed a sober jurisprudent to a master of Divine Love. It is well kwon that Rumi taught Islam to the world, using the approach of the heart to understand Allah, the creator, instead using the brain only. For the Javanese also, as can be seen in their Hindu and Buddhist temples

Nasir Tamara Jalaluddiıı Rumi iıı sout/ıeast Asia which stili standing until now although it was built very long time ago, in the first and second millennium, the role of a human being is to 'illuminating all that is in the world', meaning the seen and the unseen, the hidden and the manifest. That role could also been seenin Old Javanese literature (kakaıvin) that stili alive in the isiand of Bali until to day. In Java, the Royal Court is a the center of learning of religion, intellectual and artistic tradition. In the teaching of religion, the mystical aspect prevails strongly. Javanese Sufi model of kingship has also it central doctrine of manuggal­ ing kaıvula gusti, the union of servant and lord and also the union between human being (kaıvula) and God (Gusti). It is dosed to the doctrine of Wahdatul Wujud of Ibn Arabi and embraced also by Maulana Rumi. Later, the Mevlevi Orderthat was created by Rumi's son Sultan Valad had been appointed as the spiritual teaeber to the Court of Ottoman Empire. Many of their sultans were Sufi themselves. Indeed it was a chief of Mevlevi Order who presided the crooning of a King and would give a sword as a royal symbol to the new king who will start his reign. In the history of Java, many Kings were Sufi also. !ncluding Sultan Agung (r. 1613-46) him self, the founder of the first grand Muslim Kingdam Mataram. It is interesting here to see the immediate descendent of the Great King followed his path as Sufi ruler. Rumi's teaching of Sufism, his fondness of poetry, love of music and dance have found fertile grounds in Java. Javanese long tradition of mysticism from the time of Hinduism, Buddhism, its own indigenous mysticism and now Islam certainly a great help to accept the teachings of Rumi. Rumi's music used the reed as major instruments. In Java and Bali, Ethnic Javanese and ethnic Sundanese as well as Balinese have created a complete orchestra called gamelan on which a bamboo flute called suling or seruling are included as major instrument. Sama, the whirling dance, has been developed by Rumi. In Java, there are many sacred dance exist until today. One of them is the famous bedaya ketaıvang of the Palace of Surakarta. Rumi also sang spiritual music. In Java and Bali, people continue to song kidung, the spiritual music everyday. Rumi wrote poetry. 1532 Also in Java, the tradition of reading poetry stili strong until today. Rumi's thinking to respect nature and attention given to ancestors are also found in Muslim Java and Hindu Bali. Many scholars have shown the relationship between Rumi's teaching with Ibn Arabi thinking on Wahdatul Wujud. In Java, the idea of Wahdatul Wujud \ was also very popular as we can see in many Javanese old and new texts relat­ ed to mysticism. The Sufi teaching of Imam al-Ghazali, al-Zandaiaisiti (d. 922), al-Aquili al-Wasiti (d. 1394) and Ihrahim ibn Ad-ham who like Rumi was also came from Balk was notunknown by Javanese mystics. (cf. G. W. J. Drewes) Although, it must be noted that Javanese translated from the Malay lan­ guage the Sufi teachings of Hamzah Fansuri from Sumatera of the 16th century. The lack of interest of translating the works of Rumi in Malay language maybe because of the less elaborate artisti c traditions in Sumatera as compared to Java and Bali. But most probably it was because there had not been people who can transiate Rumi's works from Farsi into Malay. Furthermore Rumi's works had not been translated into Arabic mostly, a language widely used in the Malay and Javanese worlds, except the Matsnawi. Indirectly there have been an important influence of Jalaluddin Rumi in the works in Malay language of the famous Islamic scholar Nur Al-Din Al-Raniri (bom end of XVI C in Ranir, Gujarat, India of an Arab noble descent) who had opposed Hamzah Fansuri. We can see this particularly dn Al Raniri Hujjat Al-Sidiq li daf al-Zindiq, published between 1638-1641 with the subtitle 'Being an exposition of the salient points of distinction between the positions of the theologians, the philosophers, the sufis and the pseudo-sufis on the ontological relationship between God and the world and related question". Al Raniri cosmological doctrine is very close to Rumi's writing. Alatas wrote:(pp. 114-115). In emtilation of souls revolving for love of God Rumi, when he was drowned in the ocean of love, used to take hold of a pillar at his house and set himself turning round it, and in that co ndition he versified and dictated his thought and feeling". "Each atom daneing in the plain Or on the air, Behold it well, like us, insane It spinneth there

Nasir Tamara Jalaluddiıı Rumi iıı sout/ıeast Asia Each atom, whether glad it be Or sorrowful, Circleth the sun in ecstasy Ineffable" On notian of water, thirst and drinking, in search of the souls spirit of the Prophets and the Veracious through absorption (istighraq), the thinking of Raniri's is similar to Rumi. (Matsnawi V, 200): "There is a Water that flows down from Heaven To cleanse the the world of sin by grace Divine, At last, its whole stock spent, its virtue gone, Dark with pollution not its own, it speeds Back to the Fountain of all purities; Whence, freshly bathed, earthward it sweeps again, Trailing a robe of glory bright and pure.

This Water is the Spirit of Saints. Which ever sheds, until itself is beggared, God's balm on the sick soul: and then returns To Him who made the purest ligbt of Heaven".

On Ranini's criticism on pseudo-Sufis, it reminds us of Rumi' s Mastnawi (V, 358): "What makes the Sufi? Purity of heart; Not the patched mantle and the lust perverse Of those vile earth-bound men who steal his name ... ". It is also well-known the respect of Rumi to the Muslim Sufi martyr Al Hallaj who was sentenced to death by his enemy in Baghdad. In Java, the simi­ lar story is found in the story of Sheik Siti Jenar, who alsa was killed by his peers because of his mystic belief. 1534 Bibliography

Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, A Commentary on the Hujjat Al Siddiq of \ Nur Al-Din Al-Raniri, Kuala Lumpur, Ministry of Culture, Malaysia, 1986, 517 p. M. C. Ricklefs, The Seen and Unseen Worldsin Java: 1726-1749, AilenEt Unwin, Australia, 1998, 391 p.

G. W. J. Drewes, An Early Javanese Code of Muslim Etlıics, Martirrus Nijhoff, The Hague, 1978, 104 p. P. J. Zoetmulder, Pantheism and Monism in Javanese Suluk Litterature. Islamic and Indian Mysticism in an Indonesia Setting, KITLV Press, Leiden, 1995, 381 p.

Nasir Tamara Jalaluddiıı Rumi iıı soutlzeast Asia