The spectral links of Sama’ and Ecstasy in the didactic literature of Sufis

Subject Areas : Mystical (with literary and artistic features)

Sholeh Sabzevari ¹ , Fateme Heydari ² , Nestern Safari ³

1 - Ph.D. student, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
2 - Professor of the Department of Persian Language and Literature, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
3 - Department of Persian Language and Literature, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.

Received: 2023-08-18 Accepted : 2024-09-22 Published : 2024-09-25

Keywords: Sufism, Sama&rsquo, , Ecstasy (Waid), Time, Illumination (Ishraq).,

Abstract :

Islamic Mysticism, or Sufism, is a systematic movement comprised of numerous interconnected elements. Elements are connected both to themselves and to the whole system. One of the most important, and controversial components of this system is Sama’, a form of didactic music performed Sufis, which is used as an effective tool for purifying the heart and bringing about a change in the state and tenderness of the heart, and in turn manifests itself in the form of Ecstasy (Wajd). This Ecstasy is the foundation for understanding the illuminative nature of existence. Sufis ' attention to Sama’ causes a evariety of mystical concepts related to the ecstatic states of the dancer and the possessor (Wajid) to revolve around it. Terms and concepts such as Presence, Ecstasy, Existence, Time, Intoxication, Expansion, Ecstatic Rapture, and similar themes are born out of Sama’. In this library research, a qualitative and analytical approach has been taken to examine this broad spectrum to some extent. The authors’ aim has been to reveal some of the effects of Sama’ on the Sufi system. The results show that despite verbal disputes, sometimes violent opposition from dissenters of Sufis, Sama’ continued to exist among Sufis and was an important means for transforming the Seeker' and preparing them for achieving an illuminative worldview.