Wonder, Self-Awareness and the Symbolism of Light in the Poetry of Naim Frashëri and Hafez Shirazi

Document Type : Research Papers

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10.22099/jps.2024.48903.1129

Abstract

Wonder is the first step towards the seeking of Truth. As in Philosophy, it also plays an essential role in mysticism; in this case, in Islamic Mysticism (Sufism). Wonder in Sufism is deeply connected with the beauty of Creation which is in itself the beauty of the Creator. One of the ways to express this sense of Wonder aesthetically and metaphysically is undoubtedly through poetry. Many Sufi Masters, tariqas, mystics and poets have used poetry to express their sense of wonder and to describe their mystical experiences or their Self-Awareness of Divine Love. The scope of this paper is to emphasize and treat the element of wonder as a ladder that climbs you up to this Self-Awareness and to explain the symbolism of Light and its role in the poetry of the Albanian National Poet, Naim Frashëri and the National Poet of Iran, Hafez Shirazi. This paper is divided into three sections. A brief introduction will describe how Bektaşism was created and spread and how Hafiz together with the Persian language and Literature were acquired from Naim and other Albanian Intellectuals under the Ottoman Empire. The first part gives a general account of the sense of wonder in the poetry of both respective poets. The second deals with how this sense of wonder has brought both poets into Divine Self-Awareness, illustrating it with some examples from their poetry and the last section is focused on the symbolism of Light and the different ways that it is used in the poetry of Naim Frashëri and Hafez Shirazi, companied with some concluding remarks.

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References

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Persian Literary Studies Journal
Volume 9, Issue 1
August 2022
Pages 1-12

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