مولانا در جهان معاصر عرب

Introduction

The acquaintance of the Arab world with Persian literature and its luminaries has undergone many ups and downs throughout history. In the contemporary era, especially in the past century, the Arab world’s familiarity with Persian literature has increased significantly. This is due to scientific and cultural exchanges between Iran and Arab countries, especially Egypt, as well as the exchange of professors and students. The familiarity of Arab literati with the Persian language has led to the translation of many Persian poets’ works into Arabic and this has enabled Arab scholars to gain a deeper understanding of Persian literature and conduct further research in this field. Among them, Molana Jalal al-Din Mohammad Balkhi (Rumi) (604–672 AH) is one of the great Persian poets whose character has transcended the borders of Iran and the Persian language, making him a global figure. His works, especially the Masnavi-e Ma’navi, are known worldwide. It is no surprise that in recent years, in countries like the United States, which is recognized as a leader in science and technology, people have turned to Rumi’s poetry. As a result, Coleman Barks’s translation of Rumi’s poems, titled The Essential Rumi, has been greatly welcomed and has been among the top best-selling books in America in recent years. It is obvious that the root of this popularity must be sought in the greatness of Rumi’s character and the spiritual and mystical depth of his works.
This article attempts to examine Rumi’s position and works in the contemporary Arab world and to answer the following question: What efforts have been made to understand Rumi in the Arab world? Also, who are the Arab researchers of Rumi, and by whom, in what manner, and from when have Rumi’s works been translated into Arabic?
2. Literature Review
Among the journals devoted to the publication of the Persian language and culture in Arab countries, first and foremost, one must mention the journal al-Dirasat al-Adabiyya, which for years has been published by the Center for Persian Language and Literature at the Lebanese University. This journal, dating back to 1338 SH (1959 AD), has published articles on Rumi, and one of its issues in 1382 SH (2003 AD) was dedicated to Jalal al-Din Mohammad Rumi. An independent article on the subject is “Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Works of Arab Researchers” by Youssef Bakkar in the aforementioned special issue (1382 SH), which provides a list of Rumi’s translated works and publications about Rumi in Arabic up to 2000 (Bakkar, 2003: p. 177). Besides this, mention should be made of the journal al-Muntada, published in Egypt, which also published articles about Rumi. Issue 21 of the journal Fekr va Fan in 1973 also dedicated a special issue to Rumi. Additionally, Mohammad al-Seba’i wrote an article titled “Jalal al-Din Rumi Between Ibn Arabi and Muhammad Iqbal and His Translations and Studies in the Arabic Language”, which was published in the aforementioned special issue (Seba’i, 2003: p. 14). Narges Ganji and Fatemeh Eshraghi, in an article titled “A Reflection on Works and Sources of Rumi Studies in the Arab World”, provided a report on the works published about Rumi, including translations and authored works in book and article format up to 2010 (Ganji & Eshraghi, 2013: pp. 159–185).
In the introduction to the first volume of the valuable book Masnavi by Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, the Greatest Sufi Poet, Mohammad Abd al-Salam Kafafi dedicated pages to researchers on Rumi and reviewed the translations of Rumi’s works into Arabic, making it a key source on this subject. Mohammad Mohammadi, whose efforts to introduce Persian literature and Iranian culture in the Arab world are well-known, has, in his works and articles published over the years in various journals, addressed the status of the Masnavi in the Arab world and the efforts of Arab thinkers in this field, including in the book Persian Literature in Its Most Important Periods and Most Famous Figures, published in 1967 at the University of Lebanon. Annemarie Schimmel, in her valuable work translated into Persian as The Splendor of Shams, briefly mentioned researchers of Rumi. Franklin D. Lewis, in his work Rumi: Past and Present, East and West, besides Western and Eastern researchers on Rumi, has mentioned Arab researchers as well (Zeinivand & Dolatiari, 2012: p. 102). Vahid Bahmardi, Professor of Arabic Literature at the American University of Beirut, briefly referred to some books and articles published in Arab circles introducing Jalal al-Din Rumi in a footnote to his article “Jalal al-Din Rumi in His Arabic Ghazals” (Bahmardi, 2003, p. 40). Tal’at Abu Farha, in an article titled “Highlights on Persian Studies in Egypt,” published in the book Aspects of Cultural Connections between Egypt and Iran, also referred to some works published about Rumi in Egypt. Khaled Mohammad Abdeh, in a lecture available online, refers to the background of Rumi studies since the seventeenth century in Turkish and Arabic and provides a report on prominent Rumi researchers in the Arab world from the nineteenth century onwards (Abdeh, https://youtu.be/gso1VRMZ8YA?si=teFLHD24LM4qO_1G:2019). Finally, Hojjat Rasouli in a study titled “Molana Jalal al-Din Rumi in the Contemporary Arab World”, conducted in 1391 SH (2012 AD), provided a report on Rumi researchers up to that time, which needs updating (https://rasekhoon.net/article/show/668622). These efforts offer an incomplete picture of Rumi studies in the Arab world, but presenting a complete and relatively comprehensive picture is the aim of this article.
3. Research Methodology
To achieve the objectives and answer the posed questions, we have tried to gather the required information and materials from books and journals published in Persian and Arabic about Rumi by using library search methods and consulting written sources. Based on the descriptive and historical research method, the existing documents have been examined.
4. Analysis
The understanding of Rumi in the contemporary Arab world followed a movement that took shape in the last century regarding Persian language and literature in Arab countries, with Egyptians recognized as the pioneers of this movement. The outcome of this movement was the emergence of a generation of Arab scholars and literati who earnestly introduced Iranian culture and literature and translated significant scientific and literary works from Persian, including Persian poetry collections. Among them, a number of Arab scholars, through their acquaintance with Rumi and especially his Masnavi-e Ma’navi, endeavored to introduce him to Arab society and translate part or all of the Masnavi.
5. Conclusion
Although in the contemporary era, Europeans became acquainted with Rumi earlier than Arabs, and European Orientalists made great efforts to study and introduce Rumi and his works to the world—resulting in valuable works being published in the West—Arab speakers followed after Westerners in this field. Nonetheless, the Arab world has not been unfamiliar with Rumi, and considerable efforts have been made by Arab speakers to study and introduce him. Each Arab researcher has made valuable contributions to introducing Rumi and his works to the Arab world, resulting in the publication of numerous books and articles in Arabic. The first effort to introduce Rumi in the Arab world dates back to the translation and commentary of the Masnavi by Youssef bin Ahmad in 1872 AD, titled Al-Manhaj al-Qawi li Tulab al-Sharif al-Masnavi. The broad and serious acquaintance of the Arab world with Rumi’s works in the first half of the twentieth century happened through the writings of the Arab thinker and literati Abd al-Wahhab Azzam. Since then, many literary figures and enthusiasts of Iranian culture have engaged in Rumi studies and the translation of his works. Among the most prominent Rumi researchers in the Arab world, in addition to Abd al-Wahhab Azzam, are Mohammad Abd al-Salam Kafafi, Ibrahim Desouki Sheta, and Issa Ali Akoub. Besides these, many Arab speakers have conducted research about Rumi, resulting in multiple translations of his works and the publication of outstanding books and articles about his life and works in Arabic. In recent years, Rumi researchers have introduced new aspects of his character and works through the publication of new articles and books, employing innovative approaches such as the novel and psychology.