lifeworkofmuhammadjalal ud dinrumibyafzaliqbal

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T h eLIFE A N D WORKof

Jalal-ud-dinRUMI


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TheLIFE AND WORKof

Jalal-ud-dinRUMI

byAFZAL IQBAL

M.A., Ph.D., Fellow, Royal Society of Arts

With a Foreword byP r o f e s so r A . J . A R B E R R Y

PAKISTAN NATIONAL COUNCIL OF THE AR TSISLAMABAD (PAKISTAN)


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Copyright A. I q b a l 1 9 5 6 , 1 9 6 4 , 1 9 7 4 , 1 9 7 8 , 1 9 8 3 , 1 9 9 1T i t l e : L I F E A N D W O R K O F J A L A L U D D I N R U M IAutho r: AFZAL IQBALE d i t i o n : S i x t h

March, 1991Quant i ty: 1000P u b l i s h e r : A m a r J a l e e lDirec tor Genera lPa kista n Na t iona l Counci l of the Arts .S u p e r v i s i o n : G u l z a r A f a qiH a s a n A b b a s R a z aA h m e d D a w o o d

Pr in te r : Barq sons Pr in ters (Pvt) Ltd.I s l a m a b a d .Ti t l e Des ign: M.D. Alv iShahab Chaudhr iP U B L I S H E D B Y :Pa kista n Na t iona l Council of the Arts ,Block 6-C, Markaz F-7,I s l a m a b a d .Ph:810160, 822932ISBN 969-450-050-846-PNCA-9 l -Cu l ture-9Pr ice : Rs . 250 / -


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TOK H A L I D A

W H O I S N O M O R E


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ContentsPublisher's Note x iForeword, Pro fessor A.J. Arberry xii iPreface xvIntroduction x ixA Portrait xxvi i1. The Ag e ofRumi(A.D. 12 07 -12 73 ) 1

The tottering fabric of Muslim societyThe onslaught from Christian EuropeThe Crusaders - their hopes and fearsSome contradictions analysedA g limpse of the C hristian mind in the thirteenthcenturyShifting from Europe to AsiaMeeting the challenge of the MongolsThe sack of Baghdad (1258)Defeat of the Mongols in Egypt (1260)The origin and character of the MongolsThe social and economic conditions of Persia underthe MongolsA parallel between the roles of Ghazali and RumiShifting to Konya - the centre of Rumi's activitiesThe rise of Saljuqs and the importance of Konya

2. The Period of Preparat ion (AD. 12 07 -12 44 ) 48The story of Rumi's ancestorsThe role of Baha-ud-din, Rumi's fatherH is hostility towards philosophy and conflict withFakhr-ud-din RaziWas Razi responsible for his exile from Balkh? Theconfusion about the dates of migration clarifiedA royal invitation to settle in KonyaRumi's education under h is father - contemporarysyllabus of studies analysedThe end of one phase of education at the death ofRumi's father and the beginning of another


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An analysis of the intellectual horizon of Rumi atthe age of thirty-four .Debt to Ghazali - a brief comparisonDebt to Sana'i and 'Attar - Rumi sees him self as asuccessor to bothRumi's knowledge of Classical Islamic philosophyRumi heir to an impressive heritage of SufismDhu'l-Nun al-Misri, hero of a story in the MathnawiRespect and admiration for Bayazid BistamiMathnawi replete with references to Ibrahim ibn AdhamRumi's defence of Mansur HallajClassical Manuals of Sufism in the tenth centuryKashf-ul-Mahjub quoted copiously in the MathnawiA brief comparison and contrast with Ibn 'Arabi'sthought

3. The R omance of Rev olut ion (AD. 1 2 4 4 - 1 2 5 0 )An account of Shams-i-TabrizFour different versions of Rumi's meeting with ShamsThe version of Rumi's sonThe result of the meetingRumi's correspondence in verse with ShamsReasons for Shams's unpopularity with Rumi's followersRumi's new mode of lifeThe role of Salah-ud-din Zarkob in this periodRumi fails to find Shams but discovers himself

4. Th e Miracle of the M use ( A D . 1 2 4 5 - 1 2 6 0 )Rumi becomes a poet at the age of thirty-sevenConsideration of h is collection of odes called Divan-i-Shams-i-TabrizA critical estimate of his lyricsCharacteristics of his lyrics His universal appeal5 . Th e M essage of the Mathnawi (AD. 1 2 6 1 - 1 2 7 3 )A general summaryNa ture of existence ""~*Nature of knowledgeFree-will and determinismNature of Love -Nature of Reality


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Contents6. The Poe t as a Th inker (AD. 12 61 -12 73 )

The difference between his method and the methodof philosophersThe relation between Love and intellectThe nature of the self-His conception of evolutionSome difficulties in this conceptionDeterminism and responsibilityKnow ledge of GodRevelationThe Ideal Man7. La t in translat ion of th e MathnawiSelect BibliographyIndex


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From the PublisherTh e s ed a t e an d s eren e t err i t or i e s o f I n d u sVal ley , which were preordained to cons t i tu te Pakis tan ,h a v e a u n i q u e d i s t i n c t i o n o f w i t n e s s i n g a n e r acom plete ly dom inated and overw helm ingly in f luen cedby a ga laxy of great myst ic poets . From Karachi toK h y b e r t h e y t r a n s f o r m e d a n a t i o n i n t r i n s i c a l l yim m erse d in deep se ns e o f be lon ging to Him , and toreturn to Him some day. Wedded by their eternal bondt h e y h a v e w i t h s t o o d t h e t e s t of t i m e , an d h a v esubmitted to the wil l of One the most Merciful .Over a period, barely s tretched over 150 yearssaw the emergence of great suf is l ike Shah Abdul Lat i fB h i t a i , B u l l e h S h a h , S u l t a n B a h u , S a c h a l S a r m a s tand Rehman Baba, to name a few of them. Apart fromthe fact th at the y al l com posed ve rse s an d hy m ns forHim, and danced and sang to Him in ecs tasy , they a l lhad deep respect , regard and reverence for MaulanaJa la lu d d in R u mi an d h i s M at h n av i . M os t o f t h emalways carr ied h is verses t ranscr ibed , and carefu l lybound together . I t i s l ike perpetual t ransmiss ion , andc o n t i n u a t i o n o f g r e a t s u f i t r a d i t i o n s f ro m o n egenerat ion to another .Pa kis tan Na t ion al Counci l o f the Arts ha s theh on ou r o f p u b l i s h in g t h e 6 t h ed i t ion o f t h e b ooken t i t led , Life an d W ork of Ja la lu dd in Rum i by Dr .Afzal Iqbal . By publ ishing a book on Maulana Rumi,we have , out o f deep devot ion , submit ted our humblegrat i tude to h im, who was so near and dear to ShahA b d u l L a t i f B h i t a i , B u l l e h S h a h , S a c h a l S a r m a s t ,Su l tan Bahu and Rehman Baba, and other great suf i s ,an d la t er p oe t s o f t h i s cou n t ry , in c lu d in g A l lamaIqbal.

March 1,1991 AMAR JALEEL


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ForewordJ a l a l - u d - d i n R u m i h a s b e e n d e s c r i b e d b y P r o f e s s o rE . G . B r o w n e a s ' w i t h o u t d o u b t t h e m o s t e m i n e n t S u fip o e t w h o m P e r s i a h a s p r o d u c e d , w h i l e h i s m y s t i c a lMathnawi d e s e r v e s t o r a n k a m o n g s t t h e g r e a t p o e m sof a l l t ime ' . P ro f e s s or R . A . N ich o l s on on comp le t in gh i s m a s t e r l y e d i t i o n a n d t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h a t w o r kr e m a r k e d t h a t ' f a m i l i a r i t y d o e s n o t a l w a y s b r e e dd i s i l lu s ion . Tod ay t h e w ord s I ap p l i ed t o t h e au t h or o ft h e Mathnawi t h i r t y - f i v e y e a r s a g o , " t h e g r e a t e s tm y s t i c a l p o e t o f a n y a g e " , s e e m t o m e n o m o r e t h a nj u s t . W h e re e l s e s h a l l w e fin d s u c h a p a n o ram a o fu n i v e r s a l e x i s t e n c e u n r o l l i n g i t s e l f t h r o u g h T i m e i n t oE t e r n i t y ? ' S i r M u h a m m a d Iq b a l, w h o m a n y t i m e sa c k n o w l e d g e d h i s in d e b t e d n e s s to t h e g r e a t P e r s i a nv i s io n a ry , s t a t e d t h a t ' t h e w or ld o f t od a y n e ed s aR u m i t o c r e a t e a n a t t i t u d e o f h o p e , a n d t o k i n d l e t h efire o f e n th u s i a sm for l if e ' .T h e s e a r e b u t t h r e e o f t h e m a n y t r i b u t e s t h a t h a v eb e e n p a i d t o R u m i ' s g r e a t n e s s , w h i c h i s a c k n o w l e d g e das mu ch in t h e Wes t a s in t h e Eas t . I t i s t h ere f ore a l lt h e m o r e s u r p r i s i n g , a n d r e g r e t t a b l e , t h a t u n t i l t h ep u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e p r e s e n t v o l u m e n o a t t e m p t h a s b e e nm a d e t o w r i t e f o r t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c a b i o g r a p h y a n da e s t h e t i c a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e m a n w h o e n r i c h e dh u m a n i t y w i t h s u c h s p l e n d i d a n d m a s s i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o l i t e r a t u r e a n d t h o u g h t . I n d e e d , u n t i l t h ea p p e a r a n c e a f e w y e a r s a g o o f P r o f e s s o r B a d i a l -Z a m a n F a r o z a n F a r ' s P e r s i a n s t u d y o f R u m i , n o s u c hw o r k h a d b e e n p r o d u c e d i n a n y l a n g u a g e .

F o r t u n a t e l y t h i s l a m e n t a b l e n e g l e c t h a s n o w b e e nrep a ire d w i t h t h e i s s u e o f A f za l I q b a l 's The Life and


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Thought [ n ow Work] of Maulana Jalal-ud-din Rum i.T h e a u t h o r o f t h i s e x c e l l e n t m o n o g r a p h d e s c r i b e s i tm od es t l y a s ' a cr i t i ca l in t rod u ct ion ' ; i t i s an in t rod u ct i o n t h a t d o e s t a r d y j u s t i c e t o t h e g r e a t m a n w h o m i tp res en t s t o t h e read er . M r I q b a l h as read d eep ly t h ee x t e n s i v e w r i t i n g s of R u m i , a n d w h a t o t h e r s h a v es a i d o n t h e s u b j e c t i n a n c i e n t a n d m o d e r n t i m e s .W h i l e h i s a p p r o a c h t o t h e p o e t i s s e n s i t i v e , a n d h i sa e s t h e t i c a n a l y s i s m o s t d e l i c a t e , h e d i s p l a y s a c u t ep o w e r s o f s c h o l a r l y c r i t i c i s m i n d i s c u s s i n g t h e diff i c u l t p r o b l e m s t h a t s u r r o u n d R u m i ' s b i o g r a p h y . Ir e c o m m e n d t h i s b o o k w a r m l y ; i t i s a p l e a s u r e t o r e a d ,a n d i t h o l d s t h e k e y t o f u r t h e r d e l i g h t fo r t h o s e m a n yw h o w i l l b e en cou raged b y i t t o s t u d y f u r t h er t h ei m m o r t a l p o e t r y o f R u m i .

A . J . A R B E R R YP e m b r o k e C o l l e g eC a m b r i d g e


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PrefaceI t w as in the ear ly f i ft ies th at I s tar ted writ in g th isbook. I was then in Tehran and had an opportunity oflearning at the feet of Professor Farozan Far who was atthat t ime cons idered the greates t author i ty on MaulanaJa la l - u d - d in R u mi . Th e w ork w as b y n o mean s eas y .There i s ample mater ia l in Pers ian but i t requires a l lthe pat ience one can command to s i f t the grain from thechaff. The ear ly chronic lers seem intent on c louding am a n ' s p e r s o n a l i t y b y i n v e s t i n g h i m w i t h a h a l o o fmys t ery .

I n En g l i s h on e comes acros s n u merou s re f eren cest o R u mi amon g w ork s on P ers ian mys t i c s . Bu t evenProfessor R.A. Nicholson , who devoted a l i f e t ime toc o m p l e t i n g h i s m a s t e r l y e d i t i o n a n d t r a n s l a t i o n o fR u m i ' s Mathnawi, has not had t ime to produce acrit ical s tu dy of the l i fe and thou gh t of Rum i wh om herightly considers 'the greatest mystical poet of any age' .

I t was under these c ircumstances that I s e t myse l fthe tas k of producing a biography of Ru m i for a m oder ns t u d en t of l i t era t u re . Th e s yn o p s i s w a s s imp le . Th es t u d y s t ar t ed w i t h a d es cr ip t ion an d an an a lys i s o fcondit ions obtaining in the thirteenth centry, the periodduring which Rumi l ived and worked in Pers ia . Theidea was to create some kind of a perspect ive for Rumi'spersonal i ty . The attempt at p lacing him properly in hism i l ieu w a s or ig ina l in that no o ther s tud y of the poe tof fered th is background. And yet wi thout th is bas ic


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i n f o r m a t i o n I f o u n d i t h a r d t o u n d e r s t a n d a n dapprec iate the v i ta l ro le that Rumi p layed in mould ingt h e h u man mat er ia l arou n d h im.A f t er p ro v id in g a b r i e f ou t l in e o f t h e re l ev an tcurrents in the thirteenth century, the s tudy proceeds toanalyse , in the second chapter , the format ive per iod ofR u m i ' s l i f e . T h i s p h a s e , t h o u g h d e v o i d o f t h espectacular, i s s ignif icant in that i t provides a key to thec o m i n g e v e n t s . I n t h i s c h a p t e r o n e s e e s g l i m p s e s o fwhat Professor Arberry descr ibes as 'acute powers o fscholar ly cr i t ic i sm in d iscuss ing the d i f f icu l t problemst h a t s u rrou n d R u mi ' s b iograp h y ' . H i s very d a t e an dye ar of b irth is in doubt , bu t ha vin g quest ion ed som e oldassumpt ions , we have refra ined from f ix ing dates for an u m b e r o f e v e n t s i n R u m i ' s l i fe . T h e r e s e a r c hcont inues and has ty conc lus ions are not ca l led for .Th e t h i rd ch ap t er b e g in s w i t h t h e ap p earan ce o fS h a m s - i - T a b r i z a n d l a s t s , w i t h a l l i t s a t t e n d a n trevo lut ionary resu l t s , unt i l the death or d isappearanceof the man who complete ly trans forms the l i f e o f Rumi .Th e p er iod o f in t e l l ec t u a l ac t iv i t y d u r in g w h ich t h emedium of express ion was prose, i s fo l lowed by a periodof love and lyrical act iv i ty , du ring wh ich th e m ed iumof exp res s ion ch an ges in t o p oe t ry . R u mi ' s i s p erh ap sthe on ly example in the h is tory o f l i t erature where aman devoted to prose suddenly burs t s forth in to poetryin h i s mid d le - ag e an d b ecom es t h e gre a t e s t m ys t i ca lpoet of any age.

The fourth chapter dea ls wi th the product o f th i srevo lut ionary change , v iz . the lyr ica l poetry that f lowsw ith such pow er , bea uty an d abundance over a per iod ofs i x t e e n y e a r s o f i n t e n s e s p i r i t u a l t u r m o i l . T h edis turbance se t t les down at las t and d isappears aroundA . D . 1261 w h en R u mi b eg in s t h e mon u men t a l w ork o fw r i t i n g t h e Mathnawi. And now s tart s the per iod of


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poetry wi th a purpose , the phase which saw Rumi makehis immorta l contr ibut ion , which was la ter acc la imedas the Qur'an in Pahlavi . This period has been brief lydea l t wi th in the f i f th chapter which sums up themessage o f the Mathnawi.F r o m t h i s s u m m i n g - u p e m e r g e s t h e n e x t c h a p t e rw h ich d ea l s w i t h R u mi ' s t h ou gh t . Th e s even t h an df inal chapter, which could wel l be an appendix to themain s tudy, deals with port ions of the Mathnawi w h o s et ran s la t ion h as n o t h i t h er t o b een ava i lab le t o t h eE n g l i s h r e a d e r . P r o f e s s o r R . A . N i c h o l s o n , w h i l etrans lat ing the ful l text of the Mathnawi in t o En g l i s h ,rendered some hundred l ines in to Lat in , for he thoughtthey were 'scarcely f i t to be trans lated' into Engl ish .F r a n k l y , P r o f e s s o r N i c h o l s o n , a V i c t o r i a n , w a sp r o j e c t i n g h i s o w n p r e j u d i c e s i n c e n s o r i n g v e r s e swhich in his v iew were except ionable . In the process heden ied the rea der an opportun ity to jud ge for himself .The f inal chapter makes the expurgated port ions of theMathnawi avai lable to the Engl ish reader for the f irs tt i m e .

The book has seen s ix edit ions. It is considered by farthe most authent ic work on the subject today . I t i sindeed very dif ferent from the f irs t edit ion which cameout from Lahore in 1956. The book has a lready beentrans la ted in to Urdu in Pakis tan , and i s be ing renderedinto Turkish in Turkey. In the Musl im world , we hopei t wi l l be read wi th some in teres t by those who areconcerned with the spir i tual predicament of the modernman, for ' the world of today needs a Rumi to create anattitude of hope, and to kindle the f ire of enthusiasm forlife'.

AFZAL IQBALR aw alp in d i , P ak i s t an1 March 1991


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IntroductionM au lan a Ja la l - u d - d in R u mi n eed s n o in t rod u ct ion . F ors e v e n h u n d r e d y e a r s n o w h i s v e r s e h a s i n s p i r e dm i l l i o n s o f m e n . J a m i , t h e c e l e b r a t e d P e r s i a n p o e t ,h a i l ed h im a s a s a in t w h o w as n o t a p rop h et b u t h ad aB o o k . T h e Mathnawi h a s b e e n k n o w n f o r c e n t u r i e s a st h e Q u r 'an in P ah lav i . Wi t h t h e p os s ib l e excep t ion o fL uc re t iu s in th e f irst ce ntu ry B.C. , h e i s th e on lym a j o r t h i n k e r , t h r o u g h o u t h i s t o r y , t o e x p r e s s a ne n t i r e s y s t e m o f t h o u g h t i n v e r s e w h i c h h a s a na e s t h e t i c m e r i t o f i t s o w n .

T h e s u b l i m e h u m a n i s m of R u m i fired t h e i m a g i n a t i o n o f m a n k i n d l o n g b e fo r e t h e W e s t d i s c o v e r e dt h e d i g n i t y o f m a n . D a n t e w a s a y o u n g b o y a t t h et i m e o f R u m i ' s d e a t h . T h e g r e a t h u m a n i s t o f t h eW e s t , P e t r a r c h , c a m e a f u l l c e n t u r y a f te r h i m ; a n dE r a s m u s f o l lo w e d h i m t w o a n d a h a l f c e n t u r i e sl a t e r .

H e g e l c o n s i d e r e d R u m i a s o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s tp o e t s a n d t h i n k e r s i n w o r l d h i s t o r y . T h e t w e n t i e t h -c e n t u r y G e r m a n p o e t H a n s M e i n k e s a w i n R u m i' t h e o n l y h o p e f o r t h e d a r k t i m e s w e a r e l i v i n g i n ' .T h e F r e n c h w r i t e r M a u r i c e B a r r e s o n c e c o n f e s s e d ,' W h e n I e x p e r i e n c e d M e v l a n a ' s p o e t r y , w h i c h i sv ib ra n t w i t h t h e t on e o f ec s t a s y an d w i t h me lod y , Ir e a l i s e d t h e d e f i c i e n c ie s of S h a k e s p e a r e , G o e t h e a n dH u g o .I n T u r k e y , I r a n , I n d i a , P a k i s t a n a n d A f g h a n i s t a n ,R u m i i s h o n o u r e d a s a s a i n t , a s a g e a n d a s e e r . I nc o n t e m p o r a r y E n g l a n d , P r o f e s s o r R . A . N i c h o l s o nt r a n s l a t e d t h e Mathnawi i n t o E n g l i s h a n dc h a r a c t e r i s e d R u m i a s ' th e g r e a t e s t m y s t i c p o e t o f


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a n y a g e '. A n d y e t h e c h a r g e d h i m w i t h o b s c e n i t y .W e a r e n o t u n a w a r e o f s o m e W e s t e r n O r i e n t a l i s t sw h o h a v e l e v e l l e d a s i m i l a r c h a r g e a g a i n s t t h eQ u r ' a n . P r o f e s s o r N i c h o l s o n d e n i e d t h e r e a d e r a no p p o r t u n i t y t o j u d g e fo r h i m s e l f b e c a u s e h et r a n s l a t e d t h e f e w v e r s e s f r o m t h e Mathnawi, w h i c hh e t h o u g h t e x c e p t i o n a b l e , i n t o L a t i n . S o f a r a s i sk n o w n , t h i s i s t h e fi rs t a t t e m p t o n t h e p a r t o f a n ys t u d e n t o f R u m i t o d e a l w i t h t h i s a l l e g a t i o n a t al e v e l o f s c h o l a r s h i p . F o r t h e first t i m e a l s o , p a s s a g e ss i n g l e d o u t f o r c e n s o r s h i p b y N i c h o l s o n a r e b e i n gm a d e a v a i l a b l e t o t h e d i s c e r n i n g r e a d e r , w h o w i l lj u d g e fo r h i m s e l f .

A F Z A L I Q B A LS t o c k h o l m ,1 4 A u g u s t 1 9 7 5


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(ii)There i s hard ly a publ i shed work in Engl i sh , Urduor Pe rs ia n w hich ha s escape d my not ice in th is f i e ldan d I m u st say that Afzal Iqbal's is the first att em pt ofi ts k in d wh ich wil l be looked upon as a m ilesto ne inthe l i terature on Rumi. No other work in my knowledgeoffers a s tu dy of the l ife and tho ug ht of Ru m i w ithsuch cri t ical detai l l and careful percis ion. .The authorw h o , I am surprised, has been able to f ind t ime despiteh is mult i far ious dut ies to undertake a work of such amonumenta l nature , i s to be warmly congratu lated onthe labour of love, the chast i ty of taste , h is scrupulouscare in verifying of facts and his success in res is t ing thet em p t a t ion t o s u ccu m b t o exa gge ra t io n s . Th e In d o-P a k i s t a n s u b c o n t i n e n t h a s n e v e r l a g g e d b e h i n d a n yc o u n t r y i n i t s s e r v i c e t o t h e M a t h n a v i a n d i t sdist inguished author; but Afzal Iqbal has carved out forhi m se lf a pa th wh ich is a l l h is own . I hop e he wi l lc int inue to traverse his path with the same fervour anddevotion

(MAULANA ) ABDUL MAJID DARYABADI

Daryabad , Barabanki .16th October, 1955.


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(iii)Ja la lu 'd - D in R u mi , i s ad mi t t ed ly on e o f t h e grea tpoets o f Pers ia : h i s diwan of lyrical poetry and hisMathnawi are equal ly immorta l . When the great Sa 'd iw as a s k ed w h ich w as t h e b es t p oem ex i s t in g in t h ePers ian language , he se lec ted a lyr ic o f Rumi's ; and asfor the Mathnawi the Pers ians ca l l i t the Qur'an i nPers ian . Western op in ion i s equal ly favourable . "TheMathnawi," s a y s Prof. R.A. Nicholson, " is a majest icr iver , ca lm and deep , meander ing through many a r ichan d var i ed lan d s cap e t o t h e immeas u rab le ocean ; t h ediwan i s a foaming torrent that l eaps and p lunges inthe e th ere a l so l i tude o f th e h i ll s ." N ow , as the ch ie fcontribut ion of Pers ia to world-culture is her poetry, i fRumi i s one o f the great poets o f Pers ia , he becomes ,ipso facto, one of the great poets o f the world;n e v e r t h e l e s s , n e i t h e r t h e P e r s i a n s a m o n g w h o m R u m iw as b orn , n or t h e Tu rk s amon g w h om h e l i ved an dd ied , n or t h e Eu rop ean s amon g w h om h e h as f ou n dmany trans la tors and in terpreters , nor the Indians whohave been ass iduous ly cu l t ivat ing the Pers ian languagef or a t h ou s an d years , ever a t t emp t ed an exh au s t ivem o n o g r a p h o n t h e t h o u g h t o f R u m i : A g h a F i r u z a nFar's f ine work de als only w ith the L ife of Ru m i; an dbefore Prof. Nicholson could give to the world a cri t icalexpos i t ion o f Rumi's poetry and phi losophy , death hads t ayed h i s h an d s ! A n d s o f or var iou s reas on s , ou rk n o w l e d g e o f R u m i r e m a i n e d i n c o m p l e t e ; a n d i tredounds great ly to the credit of Mr. Afzal Iqbal thatfol lowing in the foots teps of such masters as Whinf ie ld ,Brow n e , N ich o l s on an d F iru zan F ar , h e s h ou ld h aveproduced a work of which it may be truly said: 'Age willnot wither nor Time stale its infinite variety. 'Mr. Afza l Iqbal proceeds sys temat ica l ly , He f irs tgives the historical background for "no study of Rumi so


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far had tr ied to put him in a proper perspect ive ." Thisopening chapter makes de l ight fu l read ing and severa lerrors are dec i s ive ly corrected . Bahau'd-Din d id notleave Balkh on account of h is enmity with Razi; he lef tBalkh in 1212 when h is son Ja la lu 'd-Din was 5 years o fage; then returned to Balkh and f ina l ly abandoned i tbefore the Mongol invas ion of 1220 A.D. And so at theage of 13 Rumi s tarted on that long march which tookhim to Kony a "an i s la nd of pea ce in a vas t se a o fturbulence" in 1229. This f irm grip on dates cont inuesin t h e ch ap t er on t h e P er iod o f P r ep ara t ion , f oraccord in g t o A f lak i , R u m i ' s gra n d m ot h er w as t h ed a u g h t e r o f " A l a u ' d - D i n M u h a m m a dK ha w ar az m sha h: i f so , 'Alau 'd-Din w as born in thesame year in which h is daughter i s supposed to havegiven birth to Rumi's father! I t i s obvious , therefore,that Jami and Aflaki have not d if ferent iated between theh omon ymou s 'A lau 'd - D in M u h ammad s , on e o f w h omw a s t h e K h a w a r a z m s h a h a n d t h e o t h e r , R u m i 'sances tor . S imi lar ly Bahau'd-Din cou ld not have s tayedin the Mustansariyyah Col lege at Baghdad for he was inBaghdad in 1220 and the Col lege was completed in 1224.

Keeping this h is torical background before our eyes ,Afzal Iqbal divides Rumi's l i fe into a f irst phase whichlasted from 1207 to 1244; a second phase which producedth e diwan and began wi th the appearance o f Shams- i -Tabriz in 124 5 an d lasted t i l l the dea th of Zarkob in 1 26 1;and a th ird phase which produced the Mathnawi an dlasted from 1261 to 1273 A.D. In the f irs t phase, Rumiw a s a t t a c h e d to B u r h a n u ' d - D i n ; i n t h e s e c o n d t oS h a m s - i - T a b r i z a n d Z a r k o b a n d i n t h e t h i r d t oH u s a m u ' d - D i n C h a l a p i : R u m i w a s th e r e fo r e n e v e rw itho ut a confidant in his l i fe. An d "if the friend ship ofa m o r t a l m a n c a n c o n t r i b u t e s o m u c h t o t h ed ev e lop m en t o f h u m an p ers on a l i t y ," arg u es I q b a l,


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"how much inf luence for the good would the fr iendshipof God exert on a man i f he were s incerely to cult ivateH i m ? "

Mr. Afzal Iqbal next proceeds to a crit ical analysis ofR u mi ' s p oe t ry ; an d a l l w i l l agree w i t h h im an dColeridge that no man was ever yet a great poet withoutbe ing at the same t ime a profound phi losopher . Butw ha t w a s Ru m i's philo soph y of l ife? "It is ," st a te s AfzalIqbal , "at once a descr ip t ion and ex p la na t ion and aj u s t i f i c a t i o n of h i s r e l i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e w h e r ed es cr ip t ion , exp lan at io n an d j u s t i f i ca t ion s h ou ld b eregarded as dif ferent notes combining and merging intoa h igher un i tyRumi's symphony of Love ." "Pass ivelife is of no use to Rumi," concludes Afzal Iqbal, "fors truggl ing aga ins t des t iny i s the des t iny o f man."

Mr. Afzal Iqbal's task was diff icult for he had tobreak new ground, but he knows how to pick and choosehis word s; he kn ow s how to s i f t h is ma terial; he kn ow show to arrange h is ideas ; he knows how to argue wi thr e s t r a i n t a n d m o d e r a t i o n . A n d t h e r e s u l t i s a ne x t r e m e l y f in e p i e c e o f w o r k , i n t e r e s t i n g a n dins truct ive , and rep le te wi th much in fromat ion that i snew and or ig ina l .

(PROF) HADI HASANA l i g a r h ,16th October, 195 5.


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(iv)Re cent ly I had a n opportuni ty to read , w i th gre atp ro fi t, a l earn ed t re a t i s e on M au lan a J a la l - u d - D in

Mohammed of Balkh, later of Konia, who is undoubtedlyt h e gr ea t e s t fi gure in t h e w or ld o f m ys t i c i s m an dl i terature . This book on Rumi , i s indeed comprehens iveand a bri l l iant s tudy of the l i fe and thought of a greatth in ke r o f the 7 th century A.H. I w ish a tra ns la torp o s s e s s i n g a s m u c h i n s i g h t i n t h e w o r k s o f t h eMaulana as the author of th is treat ise could trans late i tfor the b enefit of the reader.Th e w ork u n d er rev i ew comp r i s e s f i ve ch ap t ersw h ic h d ea l w i t h t h e age o f R u m i , h i s p er iod o fpreparat ion, the sudden revolut ion in his l i fe , the spir i tof h is poetry and f inal ly his thought . Al l these chaptersabound in original matter . Much fresh ground has beenbroken and many new and subt le i s sues , which are theres u l t o f d eep t h ou gh t an d s t ren u ou s re s earch , h avebe en raise d. Th e read er does not ge t we ary of rea din g

t h e b ook over an d over aga in ; h i s t h i r s t r em ain su n q u en ch ed l ik e t h a t o f t h e p roverb ia l ma n b y t h eE up hr ate s . "I am al l the more thirsty ," sa ys the poet ,"though the waters of the Euphrates have drowned me!"Am ong the a tract ive features o f the work men t ion m ustbe made of the beaut i ful quotat ions from the verse of theM aula na wh ich emb el l i sh a lmost every one o f i t s pag es .Th es e q u ot a t ion s h ave b een t ran s la t ed in t h e ch as t e s tl a n g u a g e .I t must be borne in mind that the art of writ ing ab iography i s recent in or ienta l l i t erature . Biographersin t h e Eas t h ave , t h ere f ore , t o s h ou ld er a grea tresponsibi l i ty in as much as they have to col lect and s i f tthis material from a l imited f ield of reliable data so oftenin gored b y t h e an c ien t w r i t er s o f Ta zk ar as . B es id es ,they have to delve deep into the essent ia l spir i t of their


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subject in order to col lect "the royal pearls from thefathomless ocean of thought ." I t must the said to thecredit of the auth or th at he ha s succ essful ly trav erse dbo th th es e difficult p at hs , an d ha s done full ju sti ce to hissubject according to modern methods of research. I foro n e c o n s i d e r M a u l a n a J a l a l u d d i n t o o g r e a t t o b ecomp ared w i t h an y o t h er f amou s t h in k er , r e f ormer ,saint or scholar. His equal has to be sought , i f at a l l ,am on g the divin es po ssesse d of th e secre ts of God or thegrea t s p i r i t u a l l overs w h o w ere f ree f rom mat er ia ll imi t a t io n s . N ev er t h e l e s s t h e au t h or o f t h i s w ork h a ssuccess fu l ly drawn analog ies between the Maulana andm an y o t h er I s lamic t h in k e rs l ik e G h a za l i , K h aw aj aToosi , and Iqbal of Lahore. He has discussed at lengthh o w t h e w o r k s o f M a u l a n a J a l a l u d d i n h a v e d e e p l yinf luen ced the four corners of the M us l im world a ndh o w A l l a m a M o h a m m a d I q b a l , i n t h e r e c e n t p a s t ,der ived h is insp irat ion from th is perennia l spr ing o flove . It i s s ign i f ica nt th at the M au lan a ha s en joyedgreat popularity in India during the last three or fourc e n t u r i e s d u r i n g w h i c h m a n y s c h o l a r s a n d e m i n e n tl i t era ry f i gu res o f t h e s u b - co n t in en t h a ve w r i t t encom m en t ar i e s an d ap p rec ia t ion s of h i s w ork . A l lam aShib l i N au m an i w as one of them . It i s now the turn ofMr. Afzal Iqbal , the young scholar from Pakistan, tokeep the trad i t ion a l ive by contr ibut ing th is immorta lt rea t i s e t o t h e emin en t l i s t o f grea t w ork s a l read yex tan t . M ay the holy soul of the M au lan a bless h is gr eatlabou r of love!

N e w D e l h i ,October, 17,1955.

ALI ASGHAR HEKMAT


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A PortraitH ave you ever s een a p or t ra i t o f R u mi? I , f or on e , h adlon g ed t o s ee on e f or yea rs ; an d in m y b es t ap p rec ia t ivem o m e n t s I c u r se d t h e t w o R o m a n p a i n t e r s - K a u l m a na n d A y n u D e v a l a - w h o w e r e h i s d i s c i p l e s - fo r h a v i n gf a i l e d t o l e a v e a p o r t r a i t of t h e i r M a s t e r . It a l m o s tb e c a m e a l a s t i n g r e g r e t o f m y li fe . I w a s , h o w e v e r ,g r e a t l y r e l i e v e d w h e n m y f r i e n d , A q a i A l i M o a t a -m ad i , I ran ' s first A m b a s s a d o r t o I n d i a b e f ore p a r t i t i o n , p o i n t e d o u t t h a t h e r e m e m b e r e d h a v i n g s e e n ap o r t r a i t o f R u m i i n h i s o w n c o u n t r y . T h e p o i n t w a s t o oc o n s e q u e n t i a l t o b e d r o p p e d , a n d w e b o t h p u r s u e d i tt i l l w e g o t a n u m b e r o f v a l u a b l e p i c t u r e s f ro m t h eM i n i s t r y o f E d u c a t i o n i n T e h r a n . R u m i ' s p o r t r a i t a n dt h e o t h e r p i c t u r e s p r i n t e d h e r e h a v e b e e n l e n t m e b yt h e k i n d c o u r t e s y o f t h e G o v e r n m e n t of I r a n . T h epo rt ra it d a t i n g from th e fifteenth-sixteenth ce n tu ry isp r e s e r v e d i n t h e T o p k a p i M u s e u m a t I s t a n b u l .A n d n o w l e t u s h a v e a l o o k a t R u m i .P a l e a n d s l i m , h i s s u n k e n e y e s g i v e m e a ni m p r e s s i o n o f d e e p a b s o r p t io n . E v e n t h o u g h h e i ss q u a t t i n g , i t i s e a s y t o j u d g e h i s s i z e . H e d o e s n o tap p ear t o b e a t a l l man . I n a l l p rob ab i l i t y h e i sw e a r i n g a p r o fe s so r 's g o w n . H i s h e a d g e a r s u g g e s t st h e d i g n i t y o f a s c h o l a r . T h e o n e t h i n g w h i c h s t r i k e sm e , a b o v e t h e r e s t , i s t h e k e e n n e s s of h i s e y e s -e x t r e m e l y s h a r p , d e e p l y a b s o r b i n g , s m a l l b u t s e v e r e l yc r i t i c a l , p a l e b u t p e n e t r a t i n g . T h e r e i s u n m i s t a k a b l el u s t r e a n d b r i l l i a n c e a b o u t t h e m . I t m u s t h a v e b e e nd i f f i cu l t t o l ook s t ra igh t in t o h i s eyes !

I h a v e k n o w n t h i s m a n fo r s e v e r a l y e a r s . H e h a sh e l p e d m e s o l v e m a n y a v e x e d p r o b l e m o f m y li fe , b u t


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n e v e r b e f o r e h a v e I h a d a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o l o o k a t h i m .I t w a s a gr ea t j oy t o k n ow h im f rom h i s b o ok s , b u t t ok n ow h im as a man i s q u i t e a d i f f eren t s t ory . A n d as am a n h e i s k n o w n b u t l i t t l e .M o s t o f t h o s e w h o w r o t e o n h i m d e v o t e d t h e i r t i m et o a l a b o r i o u s a n a l y s i s of h i s t h o u g h t , a c u m b e r s o m ei n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f h i s s i m p l e , b e a u t i f u l v e r s e s . O t h e r sr a i s e d h i m t o t h e l e v e l o f a s u p e r m a n , a s a i n t ,f o r g e t t i n g t h a t a m a n c o m m a n d s a s u p e r i o r s t a t i o n t ob o t h .

S i m p l e , s i n c e r e a n d s e l f l e s s , R u m i w a s r e s p e c t e db e c a u s e h e r e s p e c t e d o t h e r s . H e w a s c o n s i d e r a t e e v e nt o w a r d s h i s e n e m i e s . H e w a s n o b i g o t . P e t t y d i ff er e n c e s o f c r e e d d i d n o t u p s e t h i m . H e a l w a y s s t o o d f ort o l e r a n c e a n d t o l e r a t i o n . I t w a s w e l l - n i g h i m p o s s i b l et o p r o v o k e h i m . H e a l w a y s m a n a g e d to k e e p h i sb a l a n c e a b o u t h i m . N o t h i n g c o u l d i r r i t a t e h i m t oan ger . O n e d ay a s h e w as in a d eep mood o f con t e m p l a t i o n a d r u n k a r d w a l k e d i n , s h o u t i n g a n ds t u m b l i n g . A s h e a d v a n c e d t o w a r d s R u m i , h e f e l l o nh i m . H i s i n t r u s i o n w a s s e r i o u s e n o u g h , b u t t o h a v ep h y s i c a l l y f a l l e n o n a s a i n t i n h i s c o n t e m p l a t i v em o m e n t s w a s a c r i m e for w h i c h n o p u n i s h m e n t w a ss e v e r e e n o u g h . R u m i ' s d i s c i p l e s r o s e a s o n e m a n a n dw e r e a b o u t t o r u s h a t t h e i n t r u d e r w h e n t h e M a s t e rw a v e d h i s h a n d a n d r e b u k e d t h e m g e n t l y . ' I h a dt h o u g h t , ' s a i d h e , ' t h a t t h e " i n t r u d e r" w a s d r u n k , b u tn o w I s e e t h a t i t i s n o t h e b u t m y o w n d i s c i p l e s w h oa r e d r u n k ! ' W a s n ' t i t fo r t h i s l o v e a n d c o n s i d e r a t i o ne v e n fo r t h e m o s t u n w o r t h y m e m b e r s o f s o c i e t y t h a th e w o n t h e i r u n f l i n c h i n g a d m i r a t i o n a n d r e s p e c t ?W a s n ' t i t b e c a u s e o f t h i s r e g a r d fo r t h e m e a n e s t o fm e n t h a t h e b e c a m e t h e i r u n q u e s t i o n e d l e a d e r ? I t i sq u i t e e a s y t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e d e v o t i o n o f R u m i ' sa d m i r e r s w h o , w h i l e h e l a y o n h i s b i e r a n d w a sw a s h e d b y t h e h a n d s o f a l o v i n g a n d b e l o v e d d i s c i p l e ,d id n o t a l l ow a d rop t o f a l l on t h e grou n d an d d ran k i ta s h o ly w at er ! N or i s i t d i f f i cu l t t o u n d ers t an d t h e


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A Portrait x x i xw a r m t h o f f e e l i n g w i t h w h i c h m e n o f e v e r y cr e e d a n dc o lo u r - M u s l i m s , C h r i s t i a n s , J e w s , A r a b s a n dP e r s i a n s , T u r k s a n d R o m a n s - n o c k e d t o h i s f u n e r a lp r o c e s s i o n a n d s m o t e t h e i r b r e a s t s a n d r e n t t h e i rg a r m e n t s .B u t e v e n s u c h a m a n a s R u m i h a d h i s c r i t i c s i n h i so w n d a y . H i s u n c h a r i t a b l e a d v e r s a r i e s a t t e m p t e d t od e f a m e h i m . B u t n e v e r o n c e i n h i s w h o l e l i f e d i dh e r e t a l i a t e . T h e r e w a s a t i m e w h e n S a d r - u d - d i nQ o n a v i , w h o l a t e r b e c a m e a g r e a t f r i e n d , w a s o n e o fh i s o u t s t a n d i n g a d v e r s a r i e s . H e c a m e t o k n o w t h a tR u m i a s a M u s a l m a n h a d c l a i m e d t o b e a t o n e w i t hs e v e n t y - t w o s e c t s . S u c h a n u n o r t h o d o x a s s e r t i o n w a sn o t t o b e e a s i l y s w a l l o w e d b y a g r e a t M u s l i m d i g n i t ar y . H e d e p u t ed on e o f h i s f r i en d s , an ab le s ch o la r , t oq u e s t i o n R u m i i n p u b l i c . B u t R u m i f o u n d n o r e a s o nt o r e p u d i a t e h i s s t a t e m e n t , a n d t h a t p r o v i d e d t h es c h o l a r - f r i e n d o f Q o n a v i w i t h t h e p r e t e x t t o r e b u k eh i m t o h i s h e a r t ' s c o n t e n t . I n t h e p u b l i c m e e t i n g , a sR u m i l i s t e n e d t o t h e l o n g - w i n d e d a b u s e s h u r l e d a th i m , h e w a s n e i t h e r e x c i t e d n o r a n n o y e d ; h e o n l yl a u g h e d . A d d r e s s i n g t h e r e b u k e r R u m i g e n t l y s a i d , Ta l s o a g r e e w i t h w h a t you a r e s a y i n g n o w . ' H e a l w a y sd r o v e h o m e a p o i n t w i t h a p l e a s a n t p e r s u a s i v e a r g u m e n t a n d m a i n t a i n e d h i s p o i s e a n d b a l a n c e e v e n i nt h e m i d s t o f p r o v o c a t i v e c r i t i c i sm .

F a r f r o m b e i n g p r o u d o f h i s a t t a i n m e n t s h e e r r e d o nt h e s i d e o f h u m i l i t y . K i n g s w e r e h i s f o ll o w e r s a n dd i s c i p l e s , b u t h e n e v e r a l l o w e d v a n i t y t o g e t t h e b e t t e ro f h i m f o r a m o m e n t . H e h a d a l i v i n g , m o v i n g f a i t h i nh i s i d e a l a n d n o t h i n g c o u l d t e m p t o r s e d u c e h i m f r o mi t . H e s a w t o i t t h a t h i s k n o w l e d g e a n d w i s d o m d i d n o tb e c o m e t h e m o n o p o l y of t h e m o n e y e d m e n a b o u t t h ec o u r t ; t h e l a r g e s t n u m b e r o f h i s s t u d e n t s c o n s i s t e d o fw h a t h i s c r i t i c s c a l l e d ' t h e t a i l o r s , t h e c l o t h - s e l l e r sa n d t h e p e t t y s h o p k e e p e r s ' . T h e k i n g s c o u l d m e e t h i mo n l y w h e n h e h a d t h e t i m e to s p a r e fo r t h e m , b u t t h e s e' u n c o u t h , u n c u l t u r e d r u f f i a n s ' c o m m a n d e d h i s w h o l e


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l i f e t i m e . I t w a s f o r t h e m t h a t h e l i v e d , w o r k e d a n dt h o u g h t .I t i s t h i s m a n - J a l a l - u d - d i n R u m i - t h a t w e s e e k t ok n o w i n t h e f o l l o w i n g p a g e s .


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Chapter 1

The Age of RumiR u m i w a s b o r n o n 3 0 S e p t e m b e r 1 2 0 7 ( 6 R a b i ' I 6 0 4 )a n d d i e d o n 1 7 D e c e m b e r 1 2 7 3 . H i s l i f e , t h e r e f o r e ,c o v e r s a l m o s t t h e e n t i r e s p a n o f t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y . If w e are to h a ve s o m e id ea o f h i s co n t r ib u t ion t ol i f e a n d t h o u g h t , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t o s t a r t w i t h a b r i e fd e s c r i p t i o n a n d a n a n a l y s i s of t h e c o n d i t i o n s p r e v a i l i n g a t t h e t i m e . N o s t u d y o f R u m i h a s s o f a r t a k e n t h i sf a c t o r i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d i t i s , t h e r e f o r e , a l l t h em o r e n e c e s s a r y t o h a v e a c l e a r i d e a of h i s m i l i e u .

IT h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y of t h e C h r i s t i a n e r a w a s t h es e v e n t h c e n t u r y o f I s l a m . T h e I s l a m i c c o m m o n w e a l t ha c h i e v e d i t s f u l l p o l i t i c a l m a t u r i t y w i t h i n t h e f i r s tc e n t u r y a n d i t s e n t i r e g e o g r a p h i c a l e x t e n t d u r i n g t h efirst s e v e n h u n d r e d y e a r s o f i t s e x i s t e n c e . R i s i n g f r o mM ecc a i t flash ed in t o S y r ia ; i t t ra ve rs e d t h e w h o leb r e a d t h o f N o r t h e r n A f r ic a ; a n d t h e n l e a p i n g t h eS t r a i t s o f G i b r a l t a r , i t h a m m e r e d a t t h e d o o r s o fE u r o p e . I s l a m c o n q u e r e d S i c i l y a n d r e a c h e d a s f a r a st h e C a m p a g n a a n d A b r u z z i i n t h e s o u t h . U s i n g S p a i na s a s p r i n g b o a r d i t j u m p e d i n t o P r o v e n c e , N o r t h e r nI t a l y a n d e v e n to S w i t z e r l a n d . F r o m i t s s t r o n g h o l d i nS p a i n a n d S i c i l y it t r a n s m i t t e d i t s p o w e r f u l c u l t u r a li n f l u e n c e t o t h e w h o l e o f E u r o p e . I n t h e t h i r t e e n t hc e n t u r y , h o w e v e r , t h e s o c i a l o r d e r o f I s l a m n o l o n g e rrep res en t ed t h e b es t t h a t i t h ad t o o f f er t o t h e w or ld .T h e p a s s a g e o f c e n t u r i e s h a d b e c l o u d e d t h e v i s i o n


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w h i c h o n c e i n s p i r e d t h e w h o l e w o r l d . E l e m e n t s o fd e c a y , w h i c h h a d c r e p t i n t o t h e s y s t e m , c o n t i n u e d t ow o r k u n n o t i c e d , t i l l i t b e c a m e c le a r t h a t t h e g r a n ds t r u c t u r e r e p r e s e n t e d b y I s l a m i n t h e t h i r t e e n t hc e n t u r y w a s n o l o n g e r a s t r u c t u r e o f s t e e l . I t w a s n o tye t a h ou s e o f card s , e i t h er , b u t t h e ed i f i ce w asc e r t a i n l y t o t t e r i n g , a n d i f t h e r o t w a s n o t c h e c k e d i nt i m e t h e r e s u l t c o u l d b e d i s a s t r o u s .

T h e r e a s o n s l e a d i n g t o t h e d e c l i n e o f I s l a m c a n b eu n d e r s t o o d b e s t b y a r e f e r e n c e t o t h e c a u s e s o f i t ss u c c e s s . I s l a m o w e d i t s s p e c t a c u l a r s u c c e s s e n t i r e l y t ot h e t e a c h i n g s o f t h e Q u r ' a n a n d t h e l i f e - e x a m p l e o ft h e H o l y P r op h e t . T h e w o r ld o f I s l am flourish ed an dp r o g r e s s e d t o a n e x t e n t w h i c h w a s u n p a r a l l e l e d i n t h ea n n a l s o f h i s t o r y . I t p r o d u c e d a c i v i l i s a t i o n a t o n c er e f i n e d a n d p r o g r e s s i v e a t a t i m e w h e n E u r o p e w a ss u n k i n s u p e r s t i t i o n , s t a g n a t i o n a n d r e a c t i o n . I t w i l lb e n o e x a g g e r a t i o n t o s a y t h a t t h e W e s t o w e d i t sr e g e n e r a t i o n c o n s i d e r a b l y t o t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l e n e r g yr e l e a s e d b y t h e d y n a m o t h a t w a s I s l a m . T h i s p e r i o d o fr e g e n e r a t i o n i s r i g h t l y r e f e r r e d t o b y t h e W e s t a s t h eR e n a i s s a n c e , w h i c h m e a n s r e - b i r t h , fo r s o i t w a si n d e e d f o r t h e s t a g n a n t c i v i l i s a t i o n o f E u r o p e .

T h e s e a c h i e v e m e n t s w e r e p o s s i b le o n l y b e c a u s e o ft h e t e a c h i n g s o f t h e Q u r ' a n a n d t h e l i f e - e x a m p l e o ft h e H o l y P r o p h e t . T h e y w e r e p o s s i b l e a s l o n g a sM u s l i m s w e r e r e a d y a n d e a g e r t o s u r r e n d e r t h e m s e l v e s t o t h e c o m m a n d m e n t s of t h e i r f a i t h . T h e yb e c a m e d if f ic u l t a n d i m p o s s i b l e t o a d e g r e e c o r r e s p o n d i n g w i t h t h e M u s l i m s ' u n r e a d i n e s s t o a l l o w t h e i rl i v e s t o b e c o n d i t i o n e d a n d m o d e l l e d o n t h e t e n e t s o ft h e Q u r ' a n a n d t h e Sunnah. W h i l e t h e p i o n e e r s o fI s l a m f o u n d n o s a c r i f i c e t o o g r e a t t o o b s e r v e a n de n f o r c e t h e l a w s o f t h e Q u r ' a n , t h e i r s u c c e s s o r s , o nw h o m f e ll t h e d u t y o f p r e s e r v i n g t h e i r l e g a c y , p r o v e du n e q u a l t o t h e t a s k , f or t h e y h a d l e a r n t t o p l a c e t h e i ro w n c o m f o r t b e f or e t h e d e m a n d s o f t h e f u n d a m e n t a l so f t h e i r f a i t h . T h e y a c c e p t e d w h a t w a s c o n v e n i e n t a n d


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r e j e c t e d w h a t a p p e a r e d t o b e i n c o n v e n i e n t . W h i l ep a y i n g l i p - s e r v i c e t o t h e Q u r ' a n , t h e y r e f u s e d t o p a y i tt h e h o m a g e o f t h e i r a c t i o n s w i t h o u t w h i c h I s l a mb e c o m e s a m o c k e r y . I n s t e a d of a c c e p t i n g t h e Q u r ' a na s a n u n c h a l l e n g e d g u i d e t o l i fe in a l l i t s m a n i f o l da s p e c t s , t h e M u s l i m s r e l e g a t e d i t t o t h e s t a t u s o f at r e a t i s e o n d o g m a s . N o w o n d e r , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h ea c t i v e v i g o u r a n d u t i l i t y of t h e s y s t e m w a s n e u t r a l i s e d . T h e Sunnah i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y h a db e c o m e fo r t h e S u fi a n i d e o g r a m o f m e r e P l a t o n i ci m p o r t a n c e , f o r t h e t h e o l o g i a n a n d t h e l e g i s t a m e r es y s t e m o f l a w s , a n d f o r t h e M u s l i m m a s s e s n o t h i n gb u t a h o l l o w s h e l l w i t h o u t a n y l i v i n g m e a n i n g . T h ei n t e l l e c t u a l s , s l o w t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e l i m i t a t i o n s oft h e i r o w n i n t e l l e c t , h a d g o n e a l l o u t f o r S c h o l a s t i c i s m ,a s u b t l e p o i s o n w h i c h h a d b y t h i s t i m e e a t e n d e e p i n t ot h e m u s c l e s a n d s i n e w s o f t h e M u s l i m b o d y p o l i t i c . I th a d s a p p e d t h e c o u r a g e o f m i l l i o n s o f m e n ; i t h a dg n a w e d a t t h e r o o t s o f f a i t h a n d h a d d e m o n s t r a b l yw e a k e n e d t h e f a b r ic o f I s l a m . W e a r e n o t c o n c e r n e dw i t h a n a n a l y s i s of t h e m a n y a n d v a r i e d c a u s e s w h i c hl e d t o t h i s d e c a y a n d d e g e n e r a t i o n . I t i s e n o u g h fo r o u rp u r p o s e to r e c o r d t h a t I s l a m i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r yw a s a t o t t e r i n g e d i fi c e . I t h a d w e a t h e r e d m a n y as t o r m d u r i n g t h e s e v e n c e n t u r i e s of i t s l i f e , b u t i t h a dn o w r e a c h e d a s t a g e w h e n i t s i n n e r v i t a l i t y h a d b e e ns l o w l y sa p p e d , a n d w h e n o n e p o w e r f u l b l a s t m i g h tw e l l h ave u p roo t ed i t f rom t h e s o i l on w h ich i t w asl e a d i n g a p r e c a r i o u s e x i s t e n c e .

I t i s a g r e a t p a r a d o x o f h i s t o r y t h a t w h i l e t h e l i g h to f I s l a m h a d s p r e a d o v e r l a n d s fa r a w a y , t h e f o l l o w e r so f I s l a m w e r e d e s e r t i n g t h e i r o w n c a u s e i n t h e v e r yh e a r t o f t h e I s l a m i c c o m m o n w e a l t h . T h e b e t r a y a l h a di n d e e d c o m e , n o t f r o m t h e m a s s o f m e n , b u t f r om t h o s ew h o s e d u t y i t w a s t o g u i d e t h e m t o t h e r i g h t p a t h b ym e a n s o f t h e i r k n o w l e d g e a n d e x a m p l e . S u c h a f or c eo f c h a r a c t e r w a s , h o w e v e r , c o n s p i c u o u s l y l a c k i n g . T h ez e a l f o r t h e f a i t h w a s n o t u n o f t e n a c c o m p a n i e d b y a


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c o m p l e t e d i s r e g a r d fo r t h e l a w o f I s l a m . T h e r e w a s as h a r p c l e a v a g e b e t w e e n r e l i g i o u s t h o u g h t a n da c t i v i t y . C o m f o r t a n d c o n v e n i e n c e w a s t h e r u l e . T h elov e o f co n t r ov er s y h a d go t t h e b e t t er o f t h e l ove f ort r u t h . I s l a m h a d b e e n s p l i t u p i n t o f a c t i o n s a n d t h ew o o d h a d b e e n l o s t f o r t h e t r e e s .T h e M u s l i m s o c i e t y i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y r e p r e s e n t e d , t h e r e f o r e , a d e c a d e n t s o c i a l o r d e r i n c a p a b l e o fd y n a m i c g r o w t h a n d d i v e s t e d o f a c a p a c i t y fo r e ff ec t ive re s i s t an ce . I t i s d i f f i cu l t f or an y s oc i e t y , u n d ers u c h c i r c u m s t a n c e s , t o s u r v i v e a s e r i o u s e x t e r n a ld an ger . I t w as a l l t h e more d i f f i cu l t f or I s lamic s oc i e t yw h i c h w a s a l s o t h r e a t e n e d f r o m w i t h i n a n d h a d l o s ti t s i n h e r e n t s t r e n g t h a n d c a p a c i t y fo r h e a l t h y g r o w t h .A n d y e t t h e I s l a m i c c o m m o n w e a l t h w a s c o n f r o n t e d i nt h i s e r a w i t h t w o o f i t s m o s t d a n g e r o u s f o es . O n e w a st h e C r u s a d e r f r om t h e W e s t ; t h e o t h e r w a s t h e M o n g o lf ro m t h e E a s t .T h e C r u s a d e r w a s a f a m i l i a r c h a r a c t e r k n o w n t ot h e w o r l d o f I s l a m f o r n e a r l y t w o c e n t u r i e s , fo r t h eC r u s a d e s s t a r t e d i n 1 0 9 6 . I t i s o n e of t h e u n f o r t u n a t ef a c t s o f h i s t o r y t h a t t h e f irst g r e a t c l a s h b e t w e e nE u r o p e a n d I s l a m c a m e w i t h t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g o fE u r o p e a n c i v i l i s a t i o n . T h e c l a s h w h i c h s t a r t e d i n t h ee l e v e n t h c e n t u r y c o n t i n u e d t i l l t h e e n d o f t h et h i r t e e n t h . T h e p r o c l a i m e d a i m o f t h e s e w a r s w a s t ow r e s t t h e H o l y L a n d s f ro m t h e h a n d s o f t h e M u s l i m s .T h i s s l o g a n h a d a t r e m e n d o u s p s y c h o l o g i c a l a p p e a lfo r t h e m a s s o f t h e C h r i s t i a n s w h o s e f r e n z y w a sr o u s e d t o a p i t c h w h o l l y u n p a r a l l e l e d e i t h e r b e f o r e o rs i n c e t h e C r u s a d e s . L i t t l e d i d t h e c o m m o n m a nu n d e r s t a n d t h a t t h e r e c o v e r y o f P a l e s t i n e a n d t h eH o l y L a n d s w a s b u t a p r e t e x t o n t h e p a r t o f t h e P o p ea n d t h e p o w e r f u l r e g i o n a l k i n g s of E u r o p e t o a c h i e v et h e i r o w n p e r s o n a l a m b i t i o n s . L i t t l e di d h e r e a l i s et h a t h e w a s b e i n g u s e d a s a m e r e p a w n i n t h e h a n d s o fr e l i g i o u s a n d p o l i t i c a l i n t r i g u e r s w h o s e o w n f e e l i n g sw e r e q u i c k e n e d o n l y b y p o l i t i c a l a m b i t i o n s a n d e c o n -


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o m i c r a p a c i t y . A m o v e m e n t w h i c h w a s b a s e d o n s u c hf o u n d a t i o n s a n d w h i c h l a c k e d t h e c o h e s i o n a n d u n i t yo f p u r p o s e , s o n e c e s s a r y fo r s u c c e s s , c o u l d n o t b eexp ec t ed t o ach ieve an y ob j ec t , f or i t h ad n o w e l l -d e f i n e d o b j e c t i n v i e w . I t w a s a m e r e e x p r e s s i o n o f t h en e w c o n f i d e n c e w h i c h h a d g r o w n i n E u r o p e w i t h t h ed a w n o f c i v i l i s a t i o n . T h e d i f f e r e n t p a r t i e s e n g a g e d i nt h e C r u s a d e s s o u g h t t o a c h i e v e d i f f e r e n t e n d s . T h ea p p e a r a n c e o f u n i t y o n t h e s u r fa c e w a s d e c e p t i v ei n d e e d . In t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y , w h i c h w a s f u l l o ft h e C r u s a d e s , w e find a m p l e e v i d e n c e of t h e i r i n n e rc o n t r a d i c t i o n s . W h i l e t h e o s t e n s i b l e a i m o f t h e s e w a r sw a s t h e r e c o v e r y o f P a l e s t i n e , t h e y w e r e w a g e d , a sh a s b e e n w e l l s a i d , ' e v e r y w h e r e e x c e p t i n P a l e s t i n e ' .

I n t h e p e r i o d u n d e r d i s c u s s i o n w e c l e a r l y s e e t h eC r u s a d e r s c o m p l e t e l y u n c e r t a i n of t h e i r g o a l. Q u i t eo b l i v i o u s o f t h e i r r e a l o b j e c t i v e , t h e y w a n d e r e du n c e r t a i n l y fr om C o n s t a n t i n o p l e t o E g y p t a n d e v e nt o T u n i s . T h e y o n l y s u c c e e d e d i n c a p t u r i n g t h eC h r i s t i a n c i t y o f C o n s t a n t i n o p l e . A n d y e t , C o n s t a n t i n o p l e w a s t h e c i t y w h i c h h a d o r i g i n a l l y i n v o k e d t h eC r u s a d e s . B y t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y t h e F r e n c hf e u d a l i s m , w h i c h w a s t h e m a i n s t a y o f t h e C r u s a d e s ,w a s d i v e r t e d t o G r e e c e . P a l e s t i n e s e e m s t o h a v e b e e nle f t s e ve re ly a lo n e , f or t h e cen t re o f gr av i t y s h i f t e d int h i s c e n t u r y t o t h e d e b r i s o f t h e E a s t e r n E m p i r e .T h e s i m p l e f a c t t h a t e m e r g e s f r o m t h e h i s t o r y o f t h eC r u s a d e s i s t h a t C h r i s t i a n E u r o p e w a s d e t e r m i n e d t ow ip e ou t I s la m f rom t h e face o f t h e ear t h . It ex t er m i

n a t e d t h e M u s l i m e l e m e n t i n S p a i n a ft e r t h e m o s tf e r o c i o u s a n d m e r c i l e s s p e r s e c u t i o n t h e w o r l d h a de v e r k n o w n . W h e n I s l a m c a m e t o S p a i n w i t h T a r i q i nt h e e i g h t h c e n t u r y , t h e a r i s t o c r a c y w a s a b s o r b e d i nl u x u r y , 1 t h e s e r f s w e r e i l l - t r e a t e d 2 a n d r e d u c e d t o t h es t a t u s o f t h e s l a v e , 3 t h e r i c h a n d o p u l e n t c l e r g y1 S. L ane-P oo l e , The Moors in Spain (London, 1912), p. 7.2 M c C a b e , Splendour of Mo orish Sp ain (L ondon, 1935) , pp . 15 -16 , 21 , e t c .3

Ibid., p. 7.


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s e e m e d s u p r e m e l y in d i f f e r e n t t o t h e i r l o t . 4 P o v e r t y ,c o r r u p t i o n , i g n o r a n c e a n d i n s t a b i l i t y w e r e t h e o r d e ro f t h e d a y . A n d y e t w i t h i n t h e s a m e c e n t u r y t h eM u s l i m s e s t a b l i s h e d a n e n l i g h t e n e d a n d c i v i l is e d r u l ew h i c h w o n t h e a d m i r a t i o n o f t h e w h o l e o f E u r o p e . T ot h e l i b r a r i e s a n d u n i v e r s i t i e s , s e t u p b y t h e M u s l i m si n S p a i n , flocked s t u d e n t s f r om F r a n c e a n d G e r m a n y , 5m u c h i n t h e s a m e w a y a s M u s l i m s t u d e n t s g o t oW e s t e r n u n i v e r s i t i e s t o d a y . S o d e e p a n d u n i v e r s a lw a s t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n g i v e n t o a l l c l a s s e s o f m e n t h a td u r i n g t h e w h o l e o f t h e e i g h t h c e n t u r y t h e r e w a s n o t as i n g l e r e v o l t o f t h e s u b j e c t C h r i s t i a n s . 6 T h e s e a c h i e v e m e n t s s p r a n g d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e f a c t t h a t t h o s e w h oh a d i n t r o d u c e d I s l a m t o S p a i n h a d l a n d e d t h e r e w i t ha m i s s i o n w h i c h m a d e i t i m p o s s i b l e f o r t h e m t o b ec r u e l , i n t o l e r a n t a n d g r e e d y . T h e m o m e n t t h i s l e s s o nw a s l o s t o n t h e i r s u c c e s s o r s , t h e i r u n i t y o f p u r p o s ew a s r e p l a c e d b y t h e i r c l a n n i s h s p i r i t w h i c h g a v e r i s et o m a n y a d o m e s t i c fe u d . A t o n e t i m e d u r i n g t h et w e l f t h c e n t u r y , t h e r e w e r e a s m a n y a s t w e l v eM u s l i m d y n a s t i e s r u l i n g o v e r d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f S p a i n .T h i s , t h e n , w a s a s i g n a l fo r c o l l a p s e . I n t h e t h i r t e e n t hc e n t u r y , t h e M u s l i m r u l e o v e r S p a i n w a s f a s t s h r i n k i n g o n a c c o u n t of t h e t r e a c h e r y o f M u s l i m p r i n c e s . B y1 2 6 6 t h e R o m a n C h u r c h h a d r e c l a i m e d a l l S p a i ne x c e p t M u s l i m G r a n a d a w h i c h finally f e l l i n 1 4 9 2 .T h e C r u s a d e s , w h i c h f a i l e d i n t h e i r o r i g i n a l o b j e c t o fw r e s t i n g P a l e s t i n e fr o m M u s l i m h a n d s , s u c c e e d e d i ni n f l i c t in g a c r u s h i n g b l o w o n t h e M u s l i m s i n S p a i n .T h e g u i d i n g sp i r i t o f t h e C r u s a d e s w h i c h w r o u g h tu n t o l d h a v o c i n S p a i n i s e x p l a i n e d b y a t y p i c a l l e t t e rw r i t t e n t o t h e P o p e b y t h e C r u s a d e r s a f t e r o n e o f t h e i rv i c t o r i e s i n P a l e s t i n e :God was appeased by our humility, and on the eighth day of ourhumiliation He delivered the city and its enemies to us. And if youdesire to know what was done with the enemy who were found there,

4 Ibid. 5 L ane-P oo l e , op . c i t . 6 Ibid. , p . 43.


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know that in Solomon's porch and its temple our men rode in theblood of Saracens up to the knees of their horses. 7S u c h w a s t h e s p i r i t o f s m o u l d e r i n g h a t r e d w h i c h

w a s l e t l oos e in S p a in . A l l t ra ce s o f A rab l if e an dc u l t u r e w e r e r u t h l e s s l y d e s t r o y e d . E v e n a c c o r d i n g t oC h r i s t i a n h i s t o r i a n s , t h e r e w a s n o g r e a t e r t r a g e d y i nt h e h i s t o r y o f E u r o p e t h a n t h e e x t i n c t i o n of t h eM u s l i m c i v i l i s a t i o n i n S p a i n w h i c h h a d c o n t r i b u t e d s om u c h to t h e r e n a i s s a n c e o f E u r o p e . 8S t D omin ic h ad f ou n d ed t h e 'O rd er o f F r iarP r e a c h e r s ' 9 b y 1 2 1 5 w h e n R u m i w a s s t i l l a l a d o fa b o u t e i g h t y e a r s . T h e O r d e r h a d t a k e n a d e f i n i t es h a p e b y 1 2 2 0 . T h e F r i a r s w o r e a b l a c k m a n t l e o v e r aw h i t e h a b i t a n d l i v e d a v e r y a u s t e r e l i f e . T h e y h a d n op r o p e r t y , n o f ixed i n c o m e a n d w e r e i m b u e d w i t h t h es p i r i t o f p r e a c h i n g a n d m i s s i o n i s i n g w h i c h so o n l e dt h e m t o G r e e c e , P a l e s t i n e a n d t h e n t o C e n t r a l A s i a .I n t h e Encyclopaedia Britannica, V o l u m e V I I ,p. 5 1 9 , t h e r e i s a n i n t e r e s t i n g p i c t u r e o f S t T h o m a sw h o s e t r i u m p h o v e r A v e r r o e s i s d e p i c t e d w i t h p r i d e .

S t T h o m a s i s s h o w n h o l d i n g a B i b l e i n h i s h a n d a n df o ur o f h i s o w n w o r k s o n h i s k n e e . H e r e c e i v e s r a y s o fw i s d o m f r o m C h r i s t o n t o p o f h i s h e a d , w h i l e M o s e s ,S t P a u l , A r i s t o t l e a n d P l a t o r a d i a t e r a y s o f w i s d o mf rom l e f t an d r igh t . A t h i s f ee t i s s h ow n ly in gp r o s t r a t e A v e r r o e s w i t h a r a y o f r e f u t a t i o n p i e r c i n gh i s ' C o m m e n t a r y ' . T h i s i s a n e l o q u e n t c o m m e n t a r y o nt h e p r e o c c u p a t i o n o f t h e F r i a r s t o r e f u t e I s l a mt h r o u g h a l l m a n n e r o f m e a n s .S t F r a n c i s w a s a l r e a d y p r e a c h i n g t o t h e p o o r i n

7 G r a n t , History of Europe (London, 1917) , p . 33. Compare al so Wel l s ,A Short History of the Wo rld (L ondon, T hi nkers L i brary , 1945) , p . 369 .8 J. D. Conde, History of the Dom ination of the Arabs in Spain (1854) ,3 vols . , as quoted by Professor S. A. W. Bukhari , History of Islam ( B a n g a l o r e ,1942) , p . 189 .9 F or de ta i l s about the Domi ni can Order , s ee The Catholic Encyclopaediaar t i c l e ' P reacher ' ; P . Mandonnet , St Dominic and His Work (1944); A. Walz ,Comp endium Historiae Ordinis Praedicatorum (Rome, 1930); B . Jarret , TheEnglish Dominicans (L ondon, 1921) .


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A s s i s i w h e n R u m i w a s b o r n . B y t h e t i m e R u m ib e c a m e k n o w n a s a l e a d i n g s c h o l a r , S t F r a n c i s w a sd e a d ( 3 O c t o b e r 1 2 2 6 ) . I n h i s o w n l i f e S t F r a n c i s w a sr e s p e c t e d a s a g r e a t m y s t i c . I n 1 2 1 9 h e w e n t t o E g y p tw h e r e t h e C r u s a d e r s w e r e b e s i e g i n g D a m i e t t a , a n d o nb e i n g t a k e n p r i s o n e r w a s le d b e fo r e t h e S u l t a n .E a r l i e r h e w e n t t o S p a i n b u t r e t u r n e d w i t h o u ta c c o m p l i s h i n g h i s o b j e c t .T h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y s a w a w i d e s p r e a d r e a c t i o ni n E u r o p e a g a i n s t t h e r ig i d f o r m a l i s m o f t h e C h u r c ha n d t h e s c a n d a l o u s l i v e s o f m a n y o f t h e c l e r g y . I n t h eb e g i n n i n g of t h e c e n t u r y , t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e D o m i n i c a n a n d F r a n c i s c a n O r d e r s f u r n i s h e d a n o u t l e t .N u m e r o u s c o n v e n t s s p r a n g u p t h r o u g h o u t G e r m a n y .T h e G e r m a n m i n d w a s a p e c u l i a r l y f r u i t fu l s o i l fo rm y s t i c i s m a n d a n u m b e r of w o m e n s a i n t s a p p e a r e da b o u t t h i s t i m e . M e c h t h i l d of M a g d e b u r g a p p e a r s t oh a v e b e e n t h e m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l . A c c o r d i n g t oM e c h t h i l d , t h e r e i g n o f t h e s p i r i t w a s to b e g i n w i t ht h e y e a r 1 2 6 0 , w h e n t h e a b u s e s o f t h e w o r l d a n d t h eC h u r c h w e r e t o b e c u r e d b y t h e g e n e r a l a d o p t i o n o ft h e m o n a s t i c l i fe o f c o n t e m p l a t i o n . V e r y s i m i l a r t ot h i s i s t h e t e a c h i n g o f A m a l r i c o f B e n a w h o d i e d i n t h ey e a r t h a t R u m i w a s b o r n . T h e G e r m a n m i n d h a d i t sm o s t e m i n e n t e x p o n e n t i n t h e s p h e r e o f s p e c u l a t i v em y s t i c i s m i n M e i s t e r E c k h a r t ( 1 2 6 0 - 1 3 2 7 ) . H i ss c h o l a s t i c m y s t i c i s m w a s l a r g e l y p r a c t i c a l a n dp s y c h o l o g i c a l i n c h a r a c t e r , a n d s o f a r a s i t w a st h e o r e t i c a l i t w a s a t h e o r y o f t h e f a c u l t i e s b y w h i c ht h e u n i o n w i t h G o d i s a t t a i n a b l e . 1 0

I n S p a i n , R a m o n L u l l , a C a t a l a n a u t h o r , m y s t i c a n dm i s s i o n a r y , l a u n c h e d a c r u s a d e a g a i n s t I s l a m . L o c a lp a t r i o t i s m h e l p e d t o m a g n i f y h i s m e r i t s a n d t h ec i r c u m s t a n c e s o f h i s d e a t h h e l p e d t h e p e o p l e t o h a i lh i m a s a m a r t y r . B o r n in P a l m a , t h e b e a u t i f u l h o l i d a yr e s o r t o f S p a i n , i n 1 2 3 2 , R a m o n L u l l l e d a d i s s i p a t e dl i f e t i l l 1 2 6 6 w h e n h e r e s o l v e d t o e x p o s e t h e 'e r r o rs ' o f

1 0 Encyclopaedia Britannica, V o l u m e X V I , p p . 5 2 - 5 3 .


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I s l a m . F o r t h i s p u r p o s e h e s t u d i e d A r a b i c f o r n i n ey e a r s , a c t e d fo r t e n y e a r s a s P r o f e s s o r o f A r a b i c a n dP h i l o s o p h y a t a F r a n c i s c a n m o n a s t e r y a t M i r a m a ra n d w r o t e m a n y c o n t r o v e r s i a l t r e a t i s e s . H i s f a n t a s t i cd o c t r i n e s f o u n d m a n y a n e n t h u s i a s t i c f o l l o w e r i nC a t a l o n i a a n d l a t e r t h r o u g h o u t S p a i n w h e r e h e w a sr e c o g n i s e d a s a s a i n t , t h i n k e r a n d p o e t . H e w a s ,h o w e v e r , l a t e r r e p u d i a t e d b y t h e C h u r c h . 1 1

T h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y w h i c h b r o u g h t , w i t h t h ein v as io n o f t h e M on g o l s , t h e m os t t rem en d ou s s h ock t oA s i a a n d E u r o p e w a s a l s o t h e g r e a t p e r i o d o f m y s t i c i s m , n o t o n l y i n I s l a m a n d i n C h r i s t i a n i t y , b u t a l s o i nI n d i a w h e r e t h e B h a k t i m o v e m e n t h a d m a d e g r e a ts t r i d e s . R a m a n u j a , a S o u t h e r n B r a h m i n o f t h e t w e l f t hc e n t u r y , r e c o g n i s e d V i s h n u a s i d e n t i c a l w i t h B r a h m a ,t h e s u p r e m e s p i r i t , a n i m a t i n g t h e m a t e r i a l w o r l d a sw e l l a s t h e in d iv id u a l s ou l s w h ich h ave b ecomees t r an ge d f rom G od t h r ou gh u n b e l ie f , a n d can a t t a inc o n s c i o u s u n i o n w i t h H i m a g a i n o n l y t h r o u g h d e v o t i o nor love , i . e . Bhakt i . He s tr ic t ly forbade h is fo l lowers thee a t i n g o f a n y f o o d c o o k e d o r e v e n s e e n b y a s t r a n g e r .I t w a s an a s ce t i c ord er , t h e f o l l ow ers o f w h ic h s oons p l i t i n t o t w o s e c t s . 1 2

A y ea r b e f ore R u m i w a s b orn I n d ia h a d t h e firstM u s l i m k i n g o f i t s o w n , M u h a m m a d G h a u r i , w h oru led , n o t f rom an ou t s id e cap i t a l , b u t s t ru ck roo t s int h e s o i l . T h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y i n I n d i a w i t n e s s e d ag a l a x y of n a m e s . S h a m s - u d - d i n A l t a m s h , t h e f o u n d ero f t h e S l a v e D y n a s t y , t o o k t h e t h r o n e w h i l e R u m i w a ss t i l l a l a d . H e w i t h s t o o d t h e M o n g o l h o r d e s w h oo v e r r a n P e r s i a . T h e C a l i p h o f B a g h d a d s e n t a ne m b a s s y i n 1 2 2 9 t o i n v e s t A l t a m s h w i t h t h e r o b e o fo ffic e a s t h e r e c o g n i s e d s o v e r e i g n o f I n d i a . A l t a m s hw as t h e first t o in t r od u c e a p u re ly A ra b ic co i n a ge .S u l t a n a R a z i y a , t h e d a u g h t e r o f A l t a m s h , a l e g e n d a r yfigure i n M u s l i m I n d i a , c a m e t o t h e t h r o n e i n t h i sp er iod , an d ru led b r i e f ly f rom 1236 t o 1240 .

1 1 Ib i d . , Vo l ume XIV, p . 478 . 1 2 Ib i d . , Vo l ume XVIII , p . 963 .


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B y a c u r i o u s c o i n c i d e n c e , t h r e e q u e e n s - t h e o n l yt h r e e w o m e n w h o w e r e e v e r e l e c t e d to t h e th r o n e i nt h e M u s l i m w o r l d - r e i g n e d i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y .S h a j a r - u d - D u r r , t h e s l a v e w i f e o f S a l a d i n ' s g r a n d -n e p h e w , t h e w o m a n w h o d e f e a t e d t h e C r u s a d e o fL o u i s I X , w a s q u e e n of t h e M a m l u k s in E g y p t i n 1 2 5 0 ;A b i s h , t h e l a s t o f t h e p r i n c e l y l i n e o f S a l g h a r , p a t r o n so f t h e c e l e b r a t e d P e r s i a n p o e t S a 'd i , r u l e d t h e p r o v i n c e o f F a r s fo r n e a r l y a q u a r t e r o f a c e n t u r y d u r i n gt h e t r o u b l e d p e r i o d o f M o n g o l s u p r e m a c y ; a n d R a z i y as a t o n t h e t h r o n e o f D e l h i fo r n e a r l y t h r e e y e a r s a n d ahalf. B a l b a n , a r e m a r k a b l e s l a v e w h o r o s e t o b e t h ek i n g o f I n d i a , d o m i n a t e d t h e l a r g e r p a r t o f t h i sc e n t u r y o f I n d i a . H e fa c e d t h e t e r r o r i n s p i r e d b y t h eM o n g o l s . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o s e e t h e w r i t i n g o f A m i rK h u s r a u , a p o e t w h o l i v e d a t t h e c o u r t u n d e r t h ep a t r o n a g e o f B a l b a n ' s s o n P r i n c e M u h a m m a d . H i sp i c t u r e of t h e M o n g o l s r i d i n g o n c a m e l s , w i t h t h e i rbo di es o f s t ee l and face s l i k e f ire, s l i t s o f ey e s sh ar p a sg i m l e t s , s h o r t n e c k s , l e a t h e r y w r i n k l e d c h e e k s , w i d eh a i r y n o s t r i l s a n d h u g e m o u t h s , t h e i r c o a r s e s k i n sc o v e r e d w i t h v e r m i n a n d t h e i r h o r r i b l e s m e l l , i s t h ec a r i c a t u r e o f f e a r . T h e y a r e d e s c e n d e d f r om d o g s , b u tt h e i r b o n e s a r e b i g g e r , ' h e s a y s . ' T h e k i n g m a r v e l l e da t t h e i r b e s t i a l f a c e s a n d s a i d t h a t G o d m u s t h a v ec r e a t e d t h e m o u t o f h e l l - f ir e . T h e y l o o k e d l i k e s o m a n ys a l l o w d e v i l s , a n d t h e p e o p l e f l e d f r o m t h e m e v e r y w h e r e i n p a n i c . ' 1 3

W e h a v e t o c o n t e n d w i t h t h e i m p o r t a n t f a c t t h a tw h i l e I s l a m i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y w a s d i v i d e d t ot h e c o r e a n d w a s s p l i t u p i n t o m a n y f a c t i o n s , C h r i s t i a n i t y i n t h i s e r a w a s d e t e r m i n e d to m a k e a s u p r e m eef f or t t o s in k a l l i t s d i f f eren ces w i t h a v i ew t oo v e r t h r o w i n g t h e M u s l i m p o w e r . A l l q u a r r e l s w e r ec o m p o s e d , a l l s c h i s m s e n d e d . G r e e k a n d R o m a nc h u r c h e s , a l w a y s a t v a r i a n c e , w e r e n o w u n i t e d i n t o aj o i n t f o r c e t o l a u n c h a n a s s a u l t o n t h e p o w e r o f ' t h e

1 3 S. L ane-P oo l e , Medieval India under Mohamm adan Rule, p. 74.


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i n f i d e l s ' . 1 4 T h i s w a s c l e a r l y t h e c r u s a d i n g p o l i c y o fP o p e I n n o c e n t II I. T h i s p o l i cy w a s e x e c u t e d w i t h o u tan y regard t o s cru p le s , f or mean s d id n o t s eem t om a t t e r i f t h e e n d c o u l d b e s o m e h o w s e c u r e d . S t r a n g eb e d f e l l o w s c a m e t o g e t h e r , a n d a r e l e n t l e s s w a r w a sw a g e d a g a i n s t I s l a m f r o m a l l s c a t t e r e d b a s e s a n d a l la v a i l a b l e p l a t f o r m s . B y t h e m i d d l e of t h e t h i r t e e n t hc e n t u r y a n e w v i c i s s i t u d e i n t h e a ff a ir s of I s l a m w a sa c c l a i m e d i n t h e W e s t a s t h e p r o m i s e o f b e t t e r t h i n g st o c o m e . I t w a s t h e f o u n d i n g o f t h e M o n g o l E m p i r e b yC h i n g i z K h a n , a m a n w h o p r o f e s se d n e i t h e r I s l a m n o rC h r i s t i a n i t y . T h e W e s t w h i c h w a s f r u s t r a t e d i n t h ebat t le f ie ld in the Eas t now turned to the f ie ld o fd i p l o m a c y . F r a n t i c ef fo r t s w e r e m a d e t o c o n v e r t t h eM o n g o l s t o C h r i s t i a n i t y a n d s e c u r e t h e i r h e l p i ns e a l i n g fo r e v e r t h e f a t e of I s l a m . B u t t o w a r d s t h e e n dof t h e cen t u ry a l l h o p e van i s h ed ; t h e p ro s p ec t o f am a s s c o n v e r s i o n o f t h e M o n g o l s d w i n d l e d a n d d i s a p p e a r e d , t h e s i t u a t i o n t o o k a n u n e x p e c t e d t u r n a n dt h e M o n g o l s , i n s t e a d o f b e i n g c o n v e r t e d to C h r i s t i a n i t y , e m b r a c e d I s l a m i n 1 3 1 6 . T a q u d a r ( A h m a d ) K h a n( 1 2 8 2 - 1 2 8 4 ) 1 5 a n d G h a z a n K h a n ( 1 2 9 5 - 1 3 0 4 ) w e r et h e f i r s t t o emb race I s lam in w h ich re l i g ion t h es u c c e s s o r s o f t h e l a t t e r in P e r s i a c o n t i n u e d . T h u s t h eC r u s a d e s w h i c h b e g a n w i t h t h e S a l j u q T u r k se n c a m p e d a t N i c a e a o n t h e c o n f in e s of A s i a , e n d e dw i t h t h e O t t o m o n T u r k s e n c a m p e d i n E u r o p e i t s e l f o nt h e D a n u b e !

A p e r t i n e n t q u e s t i o n a r i s e s a t t h i s s t a g e : h o w i s i tt h a t t h e M u s l i m c o m m o n w e a l t h , w e a k e n e d b y d i s s e n s i o n s a n d t r o u b l e d b y f a c t i o n s w i t h i n i t s o w n r a n k s ,s u c c e e d e d a t l a s t i n a v e r t i n g a c a t a s t r o p h e ? W e m u s tlook f or an ex p l an at io n to t h i s m ira c l e o f h i s t or y inm o r e f a c t o r s t h a n o n e . W e w i l l t a k e u p t h e f u n d a men t a l f ac t or f i r s t . Th e I s lamic w or ld h ad c l ear lye s t a b l i s h e d , a f te r t w o c e n t u r i e s o f d e a d l y s t r u g g l e

1 4 For detai l s see H. A. L . F isher , History of Europe, Chapter 23 .1 5 E. G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia, Vol. II , p. 440.


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w i t h t h e C h r i s t i a n W e s t , t h a t i t s i n n e r s t r e n g t h a n ds o c i a l s o u n d n e s s w e r e s u p e r io r t o a n y t h i n g m a n k i n dh a d t i l l t h e n e x p e r i e n c e d b y w a y o f s o c i a l o r g a n i s a t i o n . T h e r e s i s t a n c e o f t h e I s l a m i c s o c i a l o r g a n i s a t i o n ,d e s p i t e i t s r e l a t i v e d e c a y a n d d e c a d e n c e , w a s s t i l li n v i n c i b l e . T h e r e i s o n l y o n e e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h i ss t r e n g t h a n d t h a t h a s t o b e s o u g h t i n t h e r e l i g i o u st e a c h i n g s o f t h e Q u r ' a n a n d t h e l i f e - e x a m p l e o fP r o p h e t M u h a m m a d - t h e s o u r c e s t h a t s u s t a i n e d a n ds e r v e d a s a b a n d o f s t e e l a r o u n d t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e o fI s l a m . T h e C h r i s t i a n E m p i r e h a d n o s u c h s p i r i t u a le l e m e n t t o k e e p i t t o g e t h e r . W h i l e t h e w o r l d o f I s l a mo w e d i t s p r o g r e s s a n d c i v i l i s a t i o n e n t i r e l y t o t h et e a c h i n g s of i t s r e l i g i o n , t h e a c h i e v e m e n t s o f E u r o p ee m e r g e d o u t o f h e r a g e - l o n g f i g h t a g a i n s t t h e C h r i s ti a n C h u r c h a n d i t s o u t l o o k o n l i f e . 'It w a s n o t u n t i l t h eW e s t e r n n a t i o n s b r o k e a w a y f r o m t h e i r r e l i g i o u s l a wt h a t t h e y b e c a m e m o r e t o l e r a n t a n d i t w a s o n l y w h e nt h e M u s l i m s f e l l a w a y f r o m t h e i r r e l i g i o u s l a w t h a tt h e y d e c l i n e d i n t o l e r a n c e a n d o t h e r e v i d e n c e s o f

h i g h e s t c u l t u r e . '1 6

I t i s n o t re l evan t f or ou rs t u d y t o p rob e d e ep in t o t h e c au s e s o f t h e con fl ic t o ft h e E u r o p e a n c i v i l i s a t i o n w i t h t h e C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h .I t i s en ou g h for ou r p u rp o s e t o p o in t ou t t h a t on e o f t h eim p o rt a n t c au s e s o f t h i s con f li c t w as t h e f ac t , o f t eng l o s s e d o v e r , t h a t t h e c i v i l i s a t i o n of E u r o p e w a s b a s e de s s e n t i a l l y o n t h e h e r i t a g e o f t h e R o m a n c i v i l i s a t io n ,w i t h i t s u t t e r l y m a t e r i a l i s t i c a t t i t u d e a s r e g a r d sh u m a n l i fe a n d i t s i n h e r e n t v a l u e s ; a n o t h e r r e a s o nw a s t h e r e v o l t o f h u m a n n a t u r e a g a i n s t t h e C h r i s t i a nw o r l d c o n t e m p t a n d t h e s u p p r e s s i o n o f n a t u r a l d e s i r e sa n d l e g i t i m a t e e n d e a v o u r s o f m e n . I n t h e t h i r t e e n t hc e n t u r y t h e in f l u e n c e o f t h e R o m a n c i v i l i s a t i o n w a ss t i l l s u p r e m e a s a f o u n t a i n s o u r c e of i n s p i r a t i o n . T h eB y z a n t i n e E m p i r e w a s a n h e i r o n l y i n s o f a r a s i tr u l e d o v e r s o m e o f t h e t e r r i t o r i e s w h i c h o n c e f o r m e dp a r t o f t h e R o m a n E m p i r e . T h e R o m a n i d e a s w e r e s t i l l

1 6 M . M . P i c k t h a l l , Lectures on Islam (Madras , Hoe & Co. , 1932) , p . 90 .


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c h e r i s h e d . T h e y fired t h e i m a g i n a t i o n o f D a n t e w h ow a s u n d o u b t e d l y t h e g r e a t e s t e x p o n e n t o f t h e C h r i s t i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t y o f t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y . W ew i l l p r e s e n t l y h a v e a n o p p o r t u n i t y o f b r i e f l ya c q u a i n t i n g o u r s e l v e s w i t h t h e i d e a s w h i c h i n s p i r e dD a n t e , b u t m e a n w h i l e i t i s s u f f i c i e n t t o r e c o r d t h a tt h e i d e a u n d e r l y i n g t h e R o m a n E m p i r e w a s t h ea c q u i s i t i o n o f p o w e r a n d e x p l o i t a t i o n o f o t h e r n a t i o n sf o r t h e b e n e f i t o f R o m e . T h e ' R o m a n J u s t i c e ' w a sj u s t i ce f or t h e R oman s a lon e . S u ch a con cep t ion o f l i f ew a s f u n d a m e n t a l l y a t v a r i a n c e w i t h t h e I s l a m i cco nc ep t ion of l i f e . I t su f fere d , there for e , from a l l t h ed i s a d v a n t a g e s a c c r u i n g f ro m s u c h a p o s i t i o n . W h i l et h e M u s l i m E m p i r e c o u l d b e s u s t a i n e d f o r a w h o l em i l l e n n i u m b y t h e i d e a l s w h i c h w e r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o rf o u n d i n g i t , t h e R o m a n E m p i r e w h i c h l a c k e d t h es t r e n g t h of s i m i l a r i d e a l s c o m p l e t e l y d i s a p p e a r e dw i t h i n o n e c e n t u r y . W h i l e t h e I s l a m i c E m p i r e g r e w t oi t s f u l l n e s s w i t h i n l e s s t h a n a c e n t u r y , i t t o o k t h eR o m a n E m p i r e n e a r l y o n e t h o u s a n d y e a r s t o g r o w t oi t s f u l l p o l i t i ca l mat u r i t y . Th e con t ras t , b o t h in t h er i s e an d f a l l of t h e t w o em p ir es , i s s i gn i f i can t , a n d t h eo n l y e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h e g l a r i n g c o n t r a s t b e t w e e n t h el o n g - d r a w n - o u t r e s i s t a n c e o f I s l a m a n d t h e s u d d e nd i s a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e R o m a n E m p i r e l i e s i n t h e f a c tt h a t , w h i l e t h e f o r m e r s o u g h t i t s s t r e n g t h - i n t h e c l e a r -c u t u n i v e r s a l l a w s l a i d d o w n b y t h e Q u r ' a n , t h e l a t t e rh a d n o s u c h s p ir i t u a l b as i s t o f a l l b ack u p o n .

T h i s , t h e n , i s t h e o v e r r i d i n g c o n s i d e r a t i o n w h i c ht h e r e a d e r m u s t c o n s t a n t l y b e a r i n m i n d . T h e r e w e r eo t h e r f a c t o r s , i n d e e d n u m e r o u s a n d c o m p l e x , w h i c hc o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e s u c c e s s o f I s l a m ' s r e s i s t a n c e t o t h eC r u s a d e s i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y , t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f t h e m b e i n g t h e fa i l u r e o f t h e c r u s a d i n g p o l i c yo f P op e I n n o cen t II I. 'Th i s i s t h e P op e u n d e r w h o s er u l e t h e W e s t e r n C h u r c h w a s i m p o s e d o n C o n s t a n t i n o p l e , w h o d a r e d t o p l a c e E n g l a n d a n d F r a n c e u n d e ri n t e r d i c t , w h o l a u n c h e d t h e m o s t s u c c e s s f u l o f t h e


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S p a n i s h C r u s a d e s , w h o e x a c t e d f r o m t h e r u l e r s o fE n g l a n d , A r a g o n a n d P o r t u g a l t h e s u r r e n d e r o f t h e i rres p ec t ive cou n t r i e s a s f i e f s t o b e h e ld b y t h e H o ly S eean d d id n o t s cru p le first to ex co m m u n ica t e K in g Jo h na n d t h e n , w h e n t h e c u l p r i t h a d m a d e a n a b j e c ts u b m i s s i o n , t o s e t a s i d e t h e M a g n a C a r t a a n d t oe x c o m m u n i c a t e t h e b a r o n b y w h o m h e w a s s u p p o r t e d . ' 1 7 I t w as t h e v i e w o f t h e P op e t h a t h e w a s t h eV icar o f C h r i s t , P r in c e an d K in g in on e , an d t h a t t h ew h o l e e m p i r e s h o u l d s u b m i t t o h i m w i t h o u t d e m u r .F o r t u n a t e l y f o r I s l a m h i s a m b i t i o u s p r o g r a m m e t of org

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