Rumi is indeed is a follower of antinomianism, which is so much part and parcel of Persian mysticism. The metaphor is also often used by millions of refugees expressing their aborted states and their longing for their homeland.Īnother reason for his popularity is that many people see in Rumi a tolerant and humanist Muslim, who uses metaphors of drinking wine, homo-erotic love, and even prefers the wine-house over the mosque. A perfect metaphor for the soul of man craving to return to the primordial abode. Several of his lines and anecdotes are deeply ingrained in the minds of Persians such as his opening lines about the complaint of a reed cut from the reedbed, singing its song of separation and its longing to return to the original home. His masterpiece Masnavi is called the Koran in the Persian language as he unravels the meanings of the Koran for ordinary Muslims wrapped in splendid anecdotes and theoretical explications. Rumi is perhaps one of the world’s most prolific poets having composed some 120.000 lines of poetry, covering a rich array of subjects. Love is a central subject in his poetry, which even transforms pain and suffering into love. To begin with, in his poetry he expresses wisdoms for a peaceful life in this world and a blessed life in the hereafter, teaching his readers to transform even the most painful experience into a gift. What is the appeal in Rumi’s personality and poetry? There is a wide range of reasons one can think of. Beyoncé’s and her husband Jay-Z’s admiration for Rumi are so boundless that they even named their son Rumi. Barks does not translate Rumi’s poetry from Persian but bases himself on previous translations in such a way that Rumi speaks to people of all walks of life irrespective of their ethnic and religious backgrounds. His popularity in the English speaking world is due to Colman Barks’ translations. Demi Moore, Madonna, and recently Beyoncé are all his admirers. The Persian mystic poet Jalal al-Din Mohammad ibn Balkhi better known as Rumi (1207-1273) is a best-selling poet in the United States. When the mystic arrives here, he lays down his head,Īs here there is no place for either unbelief or Islam. In the midst of this space we have longed for love. Outside unbelief and Islam, there is a desert, Of course there are many other (more liberal or poetic) translations: If Brad Pitt wants to know the source, here comes the poem in the original Persian and my literal translation. And Brad Pitt himself is quiet about this aspect of his personal life. Ibrahim Gamard examines the translation, which is inspired by Colman Barks’ version, on how the poem is “divested of its Islamic content,”. To my knowledge, a few people have attempted to explain the original poem on internet. Or as another website has it, “The tat might reference Pitt’s social justice work or, as was often the case with the ecstatic Rumi, encapsulate the wild freedom and transcendence of a passionate love.” Figure 1: Brad Pitt's tattoo (Source: See also: ) I will meet you there.” These words are characterized as a ‘romantic poem’ tattooed prior to his wedding with Angelina Jolie. The text on Brad Pitt’s arm runs as follows, “There exists a field, beyond all notions of right and wrong.
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