International Society for Iranian Studies
The Sufi Path of Love. The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi by William A. Chittick Review by: Annemarie Schimmel
Iranian Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2/3 (Spring - Summer, 1984), pp. 324-328
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of International Society for Iranian Studies
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The Sufi Path of Love. The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi.
By William A. Chittick. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983. 433 pp.
Annemarie Schimmel During the last several years, William Chittick has published a number of excellent studies about later develop- ments in Sufism, proving himself to be an excellent inter- preter of that area of Sufism which developed under the influence of IbncArabi and his commentator $adruddin Qtinawl, Maulana Riimils contemporary and neighbor.
There are many ways to interpret Rumi's poetical work, with its more than 60,000 lines, and to weave the didactic verses of the Mathnavi, the high-soaring lyricism of the Dlv&n-i Shams and the prose pieces of FThi m3 flhi into an organic whole--not to forget the letters which show Maulana as the practical preceptor of friends and admirers. Most commentators in the Islamic world who have interpreted the Mathnav;, "The Qur'an in the Persian tongue," as Jfmi called it, were convinced that Rumi's work was nothing but a po- etical expression of Ibn cArabils doctrine of wa4dat al-
wujud, and it was Muhammad Iqbal, the Indo-Muslim poet- philosopher, who recently rediscovered the dynamism of Maulana's teaching. Besides explaining Rumi's verse more or less "theosophically," one can see Rumi predominantly as an ecstatic poet who, with a unique power of transforma- tion, is able to make everything worldly transparent and use it as a symbol for the transcendent truth. Or else, one can see in him primarily the enthusiastic singer and inspiration of mystical dance, as do most of his modern admirers in the West. However, this latter interpretation usually relies upon more or less literal translations and therefore leaves out important aspects of Rumils thought; barely any of its proponents takes the trouble of going back to the original texts and reading and rereading Maulanals entire work. Thus, many misunderstandings are still to be removed.
Annemarie Schimmel is Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University.
It is here that Chittick gives a new direction to Maulanals admirers. His study is one of the few works which, following the example of R. A. Nicholson and A. J. Arberry, takes the whole corpus of Rumi's poetry and prose as the basis for interpretation. We fully agree with him that Maulanals verses are, in a mysterious way, interre-
lated: "A thorough understanding of any one of Rumi's teachings entails some degree of understanding of all of them" (p. 10). Even by studying a few poems one can reach a deeper understanding of Rumi's thought, provided one knows all shades of meaning in the verse and is aware of the poet's use of certain key words. Once one has dis- covered the main structural principles of Maulana's thought and knows at which point in life he wrote the verse in question, one can deduce numerous relations and everything falls in place.
We are also happy to agree with the author that one has to read Rumi himself, and not the hundreds of learned commentaries written about the Mathnavi over the centuries, in order to really understand all dimensions of his work. For, besides the thought content of his work, Maulana's poetical language contains so many different layers that much more investigation is needed before one can appreci- ate it in full. That holds true for his vocabulary, his use of meters, and his surprisingly elaborate use of rhetorical devices and alliteration. Chittick translates Rumi's verse into prose, often departing from Nicholson's and Arberry's versions. His translation is less heavy than Nicholson's and on the whole makes for pleasant reading. The principles of his translations are explained at the beginning of the book, and he offers explanatory notes whenever he disagrees significantly with earlier versions.
The historical introduction to the book is very brief. (The fact that Shamsuddin was indeed assassinated has been proven by the discovery of his tomb beneath the Maqam-Shams in Kony, close to Rumi's house.) The main part of the work consists of three chapters which cor- respond to the three dimensions of Sufism, i.e., knowledge, works, and spiritual realization.
Chittick begins with "Sufi Theory" (pp. 17-98) and deals here with themes like "God and the World" and with anthropology; special importance is given tco the discussion
of "Spirit, Heart, and Intellect." It seems to me that the role of intellect is slightly overstressed in this chapter (as in the whole book) even though Chittick him- self shows at some later point that intellect (represented as a policeman, a guide, or a watchman) has no place in the sanctuary of Love. This thought appears repeatedly in Maulana's poems and has no doubt contributed to the enthusiasm his poetry has inspired, especially among those who are not interested in the long and strenuous path that leads finally to Love, but see everywhere nothing but Love itself. It goes without saying that intellect, as the or- ganizer of spiritual faculties, is absolutely necessary up to a certain point. Personally, I would rather translate the word Caql in this- context as "reason" because the word "intellect"'often bears a negative connotation.
The second part is devoted to "Praxis" and begins with an analysis of Rumi's attitude toward "those who doubt." He then leads us to Rumi's teachings about the prophets and the saints, interprets "the discipline of the Path," and the cooperation of human striving and Divine Grace (pp. 109-170). Chittick is right in emphasizing that, according to Maulana and many other Sufis, books are of no avail on the difficult path, and he shows that this is the reason why Rumi himself never wrote a theoretical introduc- tion to Sufism. (For this he was blamed by some people, as the Mathnavi relates'!)
The third, and most extensive part, "Attainment to God," comprises almost half of the book (pp. 173-350). It begins with the "extinction of the Self," which finally
leads man to the state when he can say Ana'1-4aqq. Maulana has often spoken of the meaning of this expression, as he has also used Hallaj' s famous poem Uqtulunij, "Kill me, Oh my trustworthy friends," as a cornerstone of his teachings: it seemed to him to embody the secret of growing through self-sacrifice. I must confess, however, that I am not too happy when Ana'1l-haqq is simply translated as "I am God," without explaining that its original meaning is "I am the Absolute Truth." A small explanation for non- specialists would be welcome. (In the following chapter on "Love" one could also point to Hallaj's definition of God as "dynamic Love.")
The third part contains numerous themes of mystical love, such as "Separation and Union," but there is also a fine chapter on Imagination and Thought in-which the author deals with the concept of khayal. It is difficult to prove to what extent Rumi knew and used the concept of the calam
al-Mithal, but I tend to agree with Chittick that Maulana was well acquainted with the different currents and theories of Sufism of his time. Whether or not he incorporated them
into his own poetry is a different question. Other chap- ters in part three deal with the "Garden in Spring," a favorite theme of Maulana; then follows "The heart-ravish- ing Beloved," "Wine and Intoxication" (which includes the mystical dance), and finally "The beloved of the Beloved." I was particularly happy to see that Chittick con- siders the grand scene of Zulaikha, for whom everything she does or sees is related, knowingly or unknowingly, to the beloved Yusuf, as "a key passage for Rumi's whole po- etical world" (p. 236). In this very late passage of the Mathnavi, the monomania of the lover is described so su- perbly that I cannot think of any more beautiful example from Islamic mystical poetry: here we deal not with wabdat al-wujUd in the technical sense, but with the absolute
concentration of the lover on his beloved, which makes him or her forget that there exists anything besides the Beloved.
On the other hand, I would be a little more doubtful about the meaning attributed to shahada: it seems to me somewhat too farfetched that the words of the profession of faith can mean "Whatever exists is God." Even though this interpretation is possible in later Sufism, the non- specialist may misunderstand the formulation.
Chittick's book contains some useful diagrams of some divine names and contrasting pairs of elements, and numerous carefully prepared indices make it easy to find any quoted verse easily. The cover bears the calligraphy of the divine name Al-Waduid, "The Loving" (which, however, is very rarely used by Rumi).
This book is a treasure house for all those who are interested in Maulana, and it will prove to his enthusi- astic followers that his high-soaring thoughts grow out of a pattern that has its own logic (as was already stated by the Austrian orientalist Hammer-Purgstall in his analysis
of a Turkish commentary on the Mathnavi in 1854). The reader who is more or less acquainted with Rumi will find a clear survey of the most important material, convincing- ly arranged and interpreted. It is natural that in such a survey the poetical aspect of Maulana, such as his grand paradoxes and the sometimes grotesque imagery, are not specifically dealt with, but that was not the author's intention.
If there is anything to be regreted it is this: the texts are not clearly distinguished from the introductory commentaries and the typography is, on the whole, not satis- factory. A different arrangement of the verses would have made it easier to use and enjoy this fine book, for which every student and lover of Rumi will be grateful to William Chittick.
Married to a Stranger. By Nahid Rachlin. New York: E. P. Dutton, Inc., 1983. $12.95 cloth.
Jerome W. Clinton
This is the story of two crucial years in the life of a young Iranian woman, Minou Hakimi. It begins with her marriage to Javad Partovi, a recent university gradu-
ate who is a temporary teacher of literature in her high school, and ends with her separation and divorce from him. In between she moves with Javad from her parental home in Ahvaz to Abadan, where he has a permanent job in one of
the high schools.
The novel appears to be set in the period just be- fore and during the Iranian Revolution, but the political background of the times is poorly integrated into the story. That is, the terrible fire at the Rex Cinema is
Jerome W. Clinton is Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.
