JALALU’D-DIN RUMI AND HIS TASAWWUF JALALU’D-DIN RUMI First Edition AND HIS TASAWWUF 1985 ( Thesis approved for the Degree of Doctor of Literature in Persian of the University of Calcutta in 1960 ) Publisher : Sobbarani Paul. M. I. O. Housing Estate, Block C/2, 60/67, B. T. Road, Calcutta, India-700 002 Printer : DR. HARENDRACHANDRA PAUL, Rabindranath Da* M. A. (Triple). D. Litt.. W.B.E.S (Retired). Mudrakar Press 10/1/C, Marhatta Ditch Lane, Calcutta-700 003 Selling Agent: AYANA 73, M. G. Road, Calcutta-700 009 © Author M. I. G. HOUSING ESTATE, CALCUTTA-700 002 Ahameva svayamtdam vaddml Jus{am Derebhlruta mdnusebhlh Yarn yarn kdmaya tarn tamugram kfnoml taw Brahmanarn tamrfirn ram sumedhdm. ( fig-veda. 10/10/125 ; -It is myself who is ( always ) advising men and gods Presented to Pranab ( Pronava ) and 6ani ( Vdn\ ) ( the philosophy of Brahman ) as they desire It. I make representing Au* or Perso-Arabic Tanvin and its joyous whomsoever I choose superior to all. I make some one expression Vdg-devi ( the Goddess, Sarutaii) or Brahmd ( or Creator ), some one r*/ ( or sage ) and some Rabbu'l-'Alam ( Lord of the World ) as the Sounding- other with the Knowledge of the Self (Quoted in th eC# Self. as atha DcvisTiktam, 5 )*. Jnna Alldha yulaqqlnu'l-hlkmata •aid llsdnl al-walfint bl-qadrl himami'l-mustamVtn. —Prophet Muhammad —-Verily God teaches wisdom by the tongue of the preachers according to the aspirations of those who hear Him" (illustrated in the Mathnavi, Vol. VI, p. 170 of Husain’s edition ). 1 Basing these good-counsels ( cf. su-ukta ) of the Goddess ( Derisuktam ), the subject-matter of the fierce Goddess ( Con4l ) or Mahamdyd, the Great Illusion, is established in the sacred book Can#, the mystic significance of which is also discussed in The Epilegue. •Lillohl kuniizun tahta al-arshi. Some marked Quotations' Mafolibiiha alsinatu'-sh-shu'arai." -Hadithi-Sharif. “Bismillah a'r-RahmTm a’r-Rab\m ; —God hath treasuries beneath the Throne, Hast kalidl-dari-ganj Hakim * The keys thereof are the tongues of the poets. -Sirrt-Akbar. —Hadrat Muhammad. —(I pronounce) in the name of That, who is (apparently) non-existing ( al-la-hu ), the all-Merciful and (ever ) Com¬ passionate : The key to the Door of ( Heavenly ) Treasure is *Aicaryyavat paiyati kaicidenam- the Doctor ( on the knowledge of the Self ). aicaryyavad vadatl tathaiva cany ah \ —The Greatest Mystery. A caryyavacainamanyab inyoti irutvapyenam veda na caiva kaicit.m «M ••• —One sees It as a mystery or one speaks of It or hears of *Khatami-mulki-sulayman-ast 7/m ; It as a mystery, but none knows It. Jumla'i-'dlam tfirat wa Jan ast *llm Again, —Mathnavi., Vol. I, 1030. •Bahrjtam janmanamante jflanavan m5»j» prapadyate ; _The seal of the sublime Kingdom is knowledge ; the Vasudevah sarvamitl sa mahatma sudurllabhab*. whole world is form, and knowledge is the Spirit. — After many ( stages or apparent changes of ) birth ( and death ) the knower ( of the Self) realizes ( cf. 'propitiate') Me ( or the Supreme Self) ; rare is the Great of soul to 1 Quot-a tion may well be connected with Per.-Ar. qut (food) whom all is the Divine Being. ( Gita, II, 29 & VII, 19 ). or quwat ( strength ) -l-shdn ( meaning in Per. 'of them* or ••• ••• ••• the wise ). The particle of abstract noun, -tion is added “ Yadvocanabhyudltam yena vagabhyudyate ; to quota or ra-tion ( cf. also rational) only for proper Tadeva Brahma tvarp viddhi nedam yadidamupasate". distribution of the knowledge of the Self ( cf. ra ) by ( Keno’panisad, 1/5 ) drinking which every one may be strengthened in spiritual Power. Cf. also Skt. kvatl<a), a decoction ; cf. Eng. —The One who is not pronounced by the tongue, and by ( the power of ) whom the words are being pronounced : quote and mark that quoth is used only as a saying or opta-vakya of He or I ( as the Supreme Self ). Cf. also Thou knowest That to be ‘Beyond All’ ( or the most sublime, qujha ( OE. cwaeth, which is ) 'verily the Truth’. In the Brahma ) and not this ( non-self ) whom the people worship. same way Skt. uddhrti ( - ut-dhfti ) may be interpreted as •Revelation or higher intelligence is held up for practice or enjoying in material life*. Cf. also Ar. iqtibas (quotation) from qabasa, to seek fire of knowledge from ( the Higher Self or the wise ). Again, a time came when I even gave up all study, what to say of writing anything for the public. The details of this state of mind have been described in the Introduction Preface to the Epilogue of this Thesis. But this sad experience has, I think, ultimately benefited me much and that has caused my Thesis to find a place before my learned readers. While my Thesis is soon going to be published, if God Hearing that I have some published works in ihe market wills, I desire to let ray readers know the fact which prompted from a good friend of mine my son-in-law Pranab and me to place it before them. I never thought it would ever specially my dear daughter Bani some months back began to be published, yet I was never sorry for it; for the reason urge and insinuate me to republish any of my works, none that the ambition with which I wrote it has already been of which is now available in the market. It was at such a fulfilled. That is, I got the recognition for which I laboured situation when I was already thinking of writing an Epilogue so many years ; and I must be thankful to the University to my Thesis. The Epilogue is really my concern, und this of Calcutta and also be in gratitude to my expert learned thesis is, as if, going to be published as a tail ( or Bcng !ej examiners who so kindly approved it. of know -ledge in ‘Know thyself' ) of that. As a recognition I never wrote anything with the aim of any monetary gain. of their loving insinuation, I am presenting this Book It was really to prepare myself for sound scholarship. I wrote to my dear daughter and son-in-law, Bani and Pranab so many papers ( or articles, of round about two hundred ) in respectively. different Journals of India and outside not so much for name and fame as for properly understanding or perfectly knowing M. I. G. Housing Estate, the nature of the Self, Truth or the Haq which is the birth right 60/67 B. T. Road, of every One who ever is a Man in its true sense. I have also Block—C/2, Calcutta-700002 Harendracbandra Paul three published works, all in Bengali, one Parasya Sahitycr The 6th of October, 1984 6/10/84 The Day of Muharram Itihas ( or History of Persian Literature ) published ( by the Presidency Library, Caeca & Calcutta) before having my doctoral Degree, and the other two, viz., Urdu Sahityer liihas ( or History of Urdu Literature ) and Bahgla Sahitye Arbi-Far si iabda (or Pcrso Arabic words in Bengali with P. S. Glory to my Supreme Self that by the grace of Him illustrations) were published after my becoming a Doctor this humble self has at last been able to produce before you through the subsidy got from the Dept, of Education. Govt, as a token of love, regard and propinquity to all on this Holy of West Bengal, and by the patronage of the Dept, of Birth-Day ( or JanmT^ami) of Lord Vasudeva the most dear Sanskrit and Bengali, University of Dacca, Bangladesh, and invaluable re-present-a-tion of mine with the active co¬ respectively. The sad experience of these publications has operation of my dear members of the printing concern : Yours disheartened me to go door to door of publishers for a ever, H. C. Paul, 7/9/85. publication of any such work, which though most valuable to me, appears to them a great kindness showered on me. Contents Parti Life of Jaldlu'd-din Rxarii 1-85 Chap. I Name and titles, birth place, parentage and early life 3 Chap. II Education ( both theological and spiritual ) 20 Chap. Ill Teaching and guidance 45 JALALU’D-DIN RUMl AND HIS Chap. IV Contemporaries and their faith and regard 62 TASAWWUF Chap. V Character A Genius and their influence on the next generations 69 part 2 Ta^awwuf ( or Sufism ) and its Exponents 87—213 or Chap. I The terms Religion, Arts, Science, Philosophy, Mysticism nnd Tasawwuf 89 Chap. II On the origin of Tasawwuf 102 RUMl AND HIS SUFISM Chap. Ill A chain of Islamic Mystics 113 Chap. IV Sufi System and its Philosophy 196 Part 3 Rami’s Tasawwuf—its Philosophy and Practice 215-411 Section—A Rumi’s Mystic Philosophy 216—357 Chap. I Conception of God—His Unity and Attributes 216—65 (I) His Unity 217 (li) Attributes of God 239 Chap. II Conception of Life and Death 266 Chap. Ill Sufi Concept of Satan 298 Chap. IV Conception of Good and Evil 320 Chap V On Predestination and Free-will 341 Section—B Rumi’s Mystic Practices 358—41! Chap. I Prayer and its Soft Exposition 359 Chap. II Mystic State of Ecstasy and Constancy to God 374 Chap. Ill Rumi’s Religion of Love 392 Appendices:’ 413-55 (i) System of Transliteration 414 (ii) Bibliography 415 (iii) A short synopsis of the Mathnavi, Vol. I. 424 (iv) The King and the Handmaiden —an illustrative story 438 (v) Errata 453 The Epilogue—2nd Volume PART I LIFE OF JALALU’D-DIN RUMI 4 Jalalu'd-din Rumi and his Ta$awwuf however, counted himself always as an inhabitant of Khurasan.