Rumi: and His Sufi Path of Love

by M. Fatih Çıtlak (Editor)

This collection of articles by artists, philosophers, psychologists, and social scientists explores the Sufi tradition and its best-known teacher, Rumi, a 13th-century poet, jurist, and philosopher. Setting aside the standard account of Rumi as a poet of mystic love, these contributors view his writings in a historical context, investigating Sufism's ties to Islam and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad and tracing Rumi's influence on Persian and Turkish literature. The reasons why Sufism has transcended national boundaries and sectarian strife so successfully are also debated, and several contributors recommend the Sufi message of faith, love, and tolerance as a useful common ground for dialogue between religious groups.

Genres: Religion

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2007

About the author

1967 yılında İstanbul’da doğdu. Orta öğrenimini İstanbul Fatih İmam Hatip Lisesi’nde tamamladı. Marmara Üniversitesi Türkoloji Bölümü’nde öğrenim görürken Arapça ve İslâmî ilimlerin tahsilinde bulundu. Yazarımız esas eğitimini rahle-i tedrisinde ve sohbet halakalarında bulunduğu kıymetli hoca efendilerden aldı. Kültür Bakanlığı’na bağlı İstanbul Tarihî Türk Müziği Topluluğunda misafir sanatçı ve semazen olarak yurt içi ve yurt dışı birçok organizasyonda bulundu. Özel radyolarda tasavvuf ve İslâm tarihi üzerine uzun senelerdir programlar yapmakta olan yazarımız, yerli ve yabancı, sesli, görüntülü pek çok yapımda müzik yönetmenliği, sanat danışmanlığı ve metin yazarlığı vazifelerini icra etti, bu çalışmalarından dolayı birçok ödüle layık görülen Mehmed Fatih Çıtlak halen beğeniyle takip edilen radyo ve televizyon programlarını sürdürmektedir.

İslâm medeniyetinin önemli eserlerinden istifade ederek özel sohbet halakalarında tefsir, siyer ve tasavvuf konulu sohbetler veren Mehmed Fatih Çıtlak, tasavvuf düşüncesini konu edinen birçok konferans, sempozyum ve panele de konuşmacı olarak katılmaktadır. Bilhassa Pendik Belediyesinin organize ettiği Yunus Emre Kültür Merkezi’ndeki Mesnevî sohbetleri Cumhuriyet tarihinde yerel yönetimlerce düzenlenen katılımı en çok ve en uzun süreli kültürel etkinlik olarak tarihe geçmiştir. İstanbul Sümbül Efendi’de bulunan İstanbul Bilim Sanat Eğitim ve Kültür Derneği’nde Osmanlıca ve hat derslerine iştirak eden Mehmed Fatih Çıtlak, pek çok ilmî çalışmaya katkısının yanında kurucusu olduğu Keşkül dergisinde Mehmed Fatih imzasıyla yazmaktadır. Mehmed Fatih Çıtlak, evlidir ve birbirinden kıymetli üç kızı vardır.

Reviews

[Yelda Basar Moers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put down this collection of essays on Rumi and His Sufi Path of Love and finished it in one fell swoop on a flight from Istanbul to New York. A small bookseller who set up shop at the Second Court of Topkapi Palace sold it to me. This is the magnificent resident of the Ottoman Empire Sultans. What an extraordinarily delightful place to find such a text! This slim text is readily available to U.S readers and should enchant lovers of Rumi and Sufism. A recent compilation, published this year and edited by M. Fatih Citlak and Huseyin Bingul, it is by far the best expository book about Sufism and Rumi that I have ever read. And I have read many.

The first essay, “Rumi’s Path of Love and Being Freed with the Sama” introduces Sufis as “Friends of the Truth.” There is no more eloquent or veracious fashion of depicting the Sufis than in this way. The author Mehmet Seker writes that, potentially, we are able to achieve the level of the best of creation by using and developing our spiritual attributes. Those who can escape from the material world and escalate toward the high ranks of the heart and soul will experience the world in a different way, he writes, and they will become conscious of the secrets of creation. When they look, they will see things that others cannot, and everywhere they look, they will see manifestations of the divine.

Seker writes that Rumi was one of these “Friends of the Truth.” He was one of the perfect representatives of the many Sufi devotees whose way of life is to love and be of service to people, to become a perfect human being, and thus to have the pleasure of God. He also introduces the Mevlevi sect, the Sufi order that Rumi belonged to, and the Whirling Dervishes who perform the Sama, a ceremony of meditative dancing by spinning and turning as their ritual to connect to the Divine. The Sama is contemplation or meditation in action, seeking a direct connection to the Divine, yet it is still grounded in Islam. The ney or reed-flute is the instrument of choice for these ceremonies as the Sufis believe that music, when combined with meditation and contemplation, is a faster way of reaching God.

I treasure this beautiful compilation of essays by scholars and writers who find themselves enamored by Rumi and Sufism. How could they not? For hundreds of years this mystic and poet has bridged the gap between the East and West and calmed the tension of the “clash of civilizations.” Dog-ear the following essays: Rumi’s Path of Love and Being Freed, Sama and the Spiritual Signs Within, Eva de Vitray Meyerovitch and Her Contributions to the Promotion of Rumi, and Ecstasy in the Song of the Reed’s Plaintive Notes.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consistently attractive, but inconsistently written (or perhaps translated). It's an edited volume with a good introduction to Rumi...but some of the sections are well-written and engining, while other sections are awkward or repetitive. Con: Inconsistent writing/translating. Pro: It's written from the inside; much of the English-language Rumi literature is written from a decidedly Western perspective, so it's good to see it from the descendants' viewpoint.

[Hadeel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A concise representation of Rumi's thought as a Muslim and shedding light that it was due to his adherence to the laws of Islam that he became such a significant figure in the world. It's worth noting that one can never understand or will misinterpret Rumi's words according to his own understanding if one doesnt think within the fold of Islam. Thus, its incredibly difficult to get what Rumi says from his poems because these poems are the result of many years of spiritual toil and submission to God's command. For instance, when Rumi speaks about separation, one can say: He speaks about his separation from a person when in reality all his works revolve around being separated from God and how the love of God burns fervently within him and He cannot wait for this reunion.

Before coming in contact with Rumi's words, one should go back to his personal history and the journey he went through to understand his poems without translating them to suit one's own desire. I believe this book exposed to some westerners the reality of Rumi but it lacks the historical Islamic side of his life which enabled him to become one of the greatest Sufi of our times.

[Ali Durhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a nice introduction to Rumi. I enjoyed reading most of the articles.

[Rana Kadry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew about the great master Rumi and loved his quotes but it's my first time to read a book about him. Although it's a small book, it was very informative and made me want to know more about Rumi, Shams, Sufism and many other mevlevi.

[Vannary Salinna Kom · Rating 3 out of 5]

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