Page 27 - Chapter
Two: "Poetic license allows the Sufi poets to convey the experience of
God’s presence with imagery that shocks the conventionally pious and flies in the
face of juridical and theological discourse."
Commentary: The
author’s way of stating things tends to cast mystical poetry in a light which
suggests that all mystical poets set out to do is to come up with imagery that will shock
"the conventionally pious" and fly "in the face of juridical and
theological discourse". While there may be imagery or ideas contained in mystical
poetry that pushes the envelope of spiritual expression in ways which some people find
upsetting, the fact of the matter is that mystical poetry is so much more than this.
Authentic Sufi poetry
inspires, expands horizons, informs, entertains, teaches, reveals, moves, induces
reflection, reminds, humbles, mystifies, and, in general, serves as a locus of
manifestation for sparks of spirituality to ignite the minds, hearts, and souls of those
who read and listen. The rhythms, rhymes, and word-play within such poetry are, in
themselves, often mesmerizing - quite apart from whatever ideas, values, and possibilities
are being conveyed.
As far as the issue of
"license" is concerned, the question is really a matter of who has taken license
with what. One of the functions of true mystical poetry is to try to help people to
re-think what they thought they already knew and, in the process, introduce the reader or
listener to a different way of looking at, and engaging, Reality.
The views of all too many
jurists and theologians tend to be very reductionistic, narrowly conceived, and inflexible
. Mystical poetry seeks to remind people that some of the opinions of jurists and
theologians have taken license with the truth by eliminating many important themes from
consideration.
Another way of saying the
same sort of thing is as follows. Authentic mystical poetry gives expression to a
perspective which says there are more colors on the palette of Divine Purpose than the
hues of black and white with which many jurists and theologians try to paint the canvas of
existence.
Various jurists and
theologians have tried to exclude certain points of view from being entered into
testimony. Moreover, certain jurists and theologians have tried to rig the rules of
evidence and discovery so that most, if not all, of the mystical realm is to be ruled to
be irrelevant to spiritual matters and, thereby, create obstructions with respect to a
‘fair’ and impartial hearing being held before the court of public opinion.
Mystical poets are
considered controversial by some individuals because the former have had the audacity (or
courage) to suggest that, perhaps, it is not mystical poetry which "flies in the face
of juridical and theological discourse’ but the latter that flies in the face of the
essential truths to which poetry seeks to point. Naturally, some jurists and theologians
will be upset by this paradigm shift because the venue, nature, focus, methods, and
principles governing discussion will be changed dramatically and in a manner which is not
necessarily to their ‘rhetorical’ advantage.
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