I am preparing a series of lectures on Islam for the International Relations course at ESPM. This is a topic that I am very interested in, mainly due to the prejudices that are rampant in the West regarding the Muslim faith and community.
Having served throughout my career in six countries where Islam is a major presence - India (a 3ÂȘ. largest Muslim community on the planet), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Jordan â and having lived with several of their shades â from fundamentalist severity in Pakistan and Afghanistan to âliberalismâ in Kazakhstan â I decided to deepen my studies on Islam and share with friends what I could learn…
And one of the themes that most fascinate me in this universe is Sufism, the mystical current that seeks direct contact with the Divine. To reach this state, the believer pursues several steps and uses various means, both physical – opiates – like psychics – the trance (like the “dervishes”). This movement of radical asceticism has ancient roots:stems from the reaction to the worldliness that the spread of Islam, us the 8th century / IX was disseminating within the âUmmaâ, the community of the faithful. One of its fundamental elements is the abandonment of desires “wicked”, like greed and vanity. By the way, Sufism is known as âtasawwufâ in Arabic (literally âclothed with wool”), which refers to the frugal clothing of the first ascetics, known as "fuqara" (poor), in Arabic, is "dervish", in Urdu/Persian.
Two of the âweaponsâ that Sufis use in their demonstrations are devotional music â âQawwaliâ â and poetry.. The great poet Maulana Jaladim Mohammed, also known as Rumi, who lived in the 13th century – that many Brazilians know – is one of its exponents. His poetry affronts orthodox principles of Islam and reveals the heterogeneity in the interpretation of the Koran that escapes the prejudiced perception of Westerners. the poetry below, for example, demonstrates a link with the Hindu concept of metempsychosis:
âSince you arrived in the world of being,
a ladder was placed before you, for you to escape.
First, former mineral;
later, you became a plant,
and later, animal.
How can this be a secret to you?
Finally, you were made man,
with knowledge, reason and faith.
contemplate your body – a handful of dust –
see how perfect it has become!
When you have completed your journey,
surely you will return as an angel;
after that, you will be done with the earth for good,
and your station will be heaven.
As far as music is concerned – Qawali – the names of singers Fateh Ali Khan and Abida Parveen are the best known internationally. I chose an interpretation of Abida Parveen, whom I had the privilege of assisting in Islamabad, to illustrate what I mentioned above:
Another example of Sufi poetry is the poem (music by Henry Corbyn) de Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Arabi, better known as Ibn Arabi, Abenarabi e Ben Arabi. Ibn Arabi was a Sufi mystic, philosopher, poet, Hispano-Muslim traveler and scholar who lived in the 12th century in Andalusia.
I propose to friends who are interested in religious issues to watch these two videos:
YOUTUBE.COM Ibn’ Arabi – âAlone with the Aloneâ: Henry CorbinOne of the 20th centuryâs most prolific scholars of Islamic mysticism, Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was Professor of Islam & Islamic Philosophy at the Sorbonne i…
Attachments areaView the video Moula e Kul Best Sufi Song Abida Pareen Sufi Kalam Tasawuf from YouTubeMoula e Kul Best Sufi Song Abida Pareen Sufi Kalam Tasawuf
