Home Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies Dancing before God’s Beauty
book: Dancing before God’s Beauty
Book
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Dancing before God’s Beauty

Exploring Rūmī’s Poetic Universe, Mystical Philosophy, and Reception History
Languages: English, Persian
Published/Copyright: 2025
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill
Sufism Studies
This book is in the series

About this book

This book presents fresh insights into the life, teachings, and enduring legacy of the Persian mystic poet Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī. Across thirteen chapters, scholars introduce innovative perspectives on under-explored and emerging themes, from the hagiography written by Rūmī’s son, Sulṭān Valad, and his journey towards accepting spiritual leadership, to Rūmī’s passionate relationship with his beloved friend, Shams-i Tabrīzī. The volume also provides new approaches to reading Rūmī’s monumental didactic narrative, the Mathnavī. Topics range from shāhid-bāzī – worshipping a beautiful face to commune with the divine to supplication (munājāt), immolation, sensory perception, and the transformative role of music in reaching ecstatic states. Chapters deal with Rūmī’s reception history, examining the works of figures such as Anqaravī (d. 1041/1631) and Abdülbâki Gölpınarlı (1900-1982), as well as the Dutch-Iranian novelist Kader Abdolah. The book further explores Rūmī’s visual reception history and his impact on contemporary artists. Finally, it examines Rūmī’s popularity in the United States, analysing how his poetry continues to offer people from diverse backgrounds a Lacanian "imaginary": an internalized representation of the spiritual.

Author / Editor information

Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.


Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
I

Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
V

Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
1

Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
3

Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
5

Abolfazl Moshiri
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
19

Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
35

Alan Williams
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
83

Lloyd Ridgeon
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
107

Eliza Tasbihi
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
123

Rūmī’s Story of Moses and the Shepherd
Maarten Holtzapffel
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
141

Arash Ghajarjazi
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
161

Fatemeh Naghshvarian
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
181

Rokus de Groot
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
197
Reception History

Gökçen B. Dinç
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
211

Ewa Dynarowicz
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
233

Kasper Tromp
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
249

Fariba Enteshari
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
269

Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
285

Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
289

Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed
Download PDF
303

Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 30, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9783111708447
Hardcover published on:
June 30, 2025
Hardcover ISBN:
9783111708379
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Front matter:
6
Main content:
305
Coloured Illustrations:
12
Tables:
1
Downloaded on 6.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111708447/html?lang=en
Scroll to top button