In this paperwork, I am going to discuss two or three major themes that emerge from Sufi poetry and how these themes connect to the general teachings of Islam. I will also compare the Sufi poetry with Merton Thomas work.
It is important to note that the Sufi poetry comprises the work of a variety of writers thought to have come, mainly, from Persia. I will start by looking at the theme of love and beauty as depicted by Hafiz of Shiraz. According to Hafiz, he uses the theme of both beauty and love to remind us of our responsibilities in taking care of all lovely creatures that has been created by God. ‘We are the guardians of His Beauty’’, hence we should protects this beauty, inclusive of the sun. Hafiz recognizes the fact that we are the companions of God Beauty and the guardians of Truth. The Islam religion learns a lot from this theme, hence helping them to adopt an honest life free from deceitfulness- to live an upright life. It is important to note that, Hafiz makes it clear, to us, that every man, every woman, child, plant and creature in Existence is a servant of our beloved. The Islam religion learns from this theme, love and beauty, that it is our responsibility as Muslims to take care of God creation, since we are His servants, and for this scenario to exists, we should learn to love all the creatures- applying the concept of truth (Hafiz of Shiraz (1230-91)).
The second theme that I will be discussing in this paperwork is about spiritual life by Jelaluddin Rumi. From the poem, we learn that the author is tired of living in the prison- unspiritual life.’ I m sick of mortal kings” from this quote, it is, therefore, clear to us that the author wants another King, but not the earthly kings who promises what they cannot provide. The Islam religions learns of the importance of living a spiritual life, whereby, they have no other alternative, but to accept this new mode of living, since without the presence of spiritual life living in them, they are nothing but the dark alleys seeking what cannot be found. It is important to note that living spiritually, our withered hearts are revived (Jelaluddin Rumi, (1207-73)).
The third theme is offering thanks to God. The author recognizes what the Lord has done to him, to the extent that he is left confused on the appropriate method to use to thank Him, since he has done and continue to do a lot in his life. He says ``every hair of my body is a gift from Him’’ from the quote, we can learn of the significance work that God has done unto us. It is, therefore, important to recognize the fact that all success streams only from the grace of God, since in this world you never stand by your own strength, but the strength of God. The Islam religion hence uses this theme, to remind its followers on the importance of giving thanks to God, since they could not have made it were it not for His love (Saadi of Shiraz, (1215?-1292)).
According to Thomas Merton works, he recognizes the fact that to love another is to will what is really good of him, hence the reason why love must be based on truth. He makes it clear that to love blindly, according to Thomas, is hatred rather than love, since the love that exists is not interested in the truth, but only in itself. Hafiz, too, makes it clear that we are the guardian of truth, meaning that he recognizes the fact that love can only exists when the concept of truth is applied by both parties (Merton, pg 5).
Works cited
Selections of Sufi poetry
Merton, Thomas. No man is an Island. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1955. Print.
