Khawas, Ali al- - A00117
"All wisdom can be stated in two lines:
"What is done for you -- allow it to be done.
"What you must do yourself -- make sure you do it." (07/23/2022)
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Ali al-Khawas was a 9th-century Muslim Sufi poet and mystic from the ninth century AD. Pope Francis refers to him as a "spiritual writer" in his encyclical letter Laudato si' (2015) on the topic of ecology.[1]
Teaching
[edit]In Laudato si', Francis writes that humanity can "discover God in all things": "in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face".[1]: Paragraph 233 In a footnote, he refers to al-Khawas' experience of God and the world, noting how the poet stressed "the need not to put too much distance between the creatures of the world and the interior experience of God".[2] The footnote reads
Aisha Bhoori has noted that it is "unusual for a pope to cite a Sufi poet".[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Pope Francis, Laudato si', footnote 159, published 24 May 2015, accessed 22 May 2024
- ^ a b Bhoori, Aisha. "Meet the Muslim Mystic Pope Francis Cited in His Encyclical". Time. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch [ed.], Anthologie du soufisme, Paris 1978, 200
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Laudato si' and Sufism
Encyclical cites Sufi spiritual writer Ali al-Khawas
For the first time in the history of the Church’s official Magisterium a papal encyclical has mentioned a text referring directly to another spiritual and religious tradition.
A footnote in Laudato si’ cites a Sufi text, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by Christians or Muslims, particularly Sufis.
The footnotes says: “The spiritual writer Ali al-Khawas stresses from his own experience the need not to put too much distance between the creatures of the world and the interior experience of God. As he puts it: 'Prejudice should not have us criticize those who seek ecstasy in music or poetry. There is a subtle mystery in each of the movements and sounds of this world. The initiate will capture what is being said when the wind blows, the trees sway, water flows, flies buzz, doors creak, birds sing, or in the sound of strings or flutes, the sighs of the sick, the groans of the afflicted...' (Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch [ed.], Anthologie du soufisme, Paris 1978, 200).”
This quotation is a perfect illustration of Pope Francis’ subject when he writes: “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face. The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things.” (Laudato si’, no. 233).
The pope then quotes this beautiful text of contemplation of what the Latins used to call The Book of Nature, a source of inspiration and of faith in God the creator.
To be sure, the quotation appears only in a footnote and the author is presented as a 'spiritual writer' and not as a Sufi. But the apparent lack of precision is quite justified when one consults the celebrated anthology of Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch (†1999) from which the text is taken.
A great specialist of Islam, she deserves credit for having translated into French numerous works of Jalal Ad-Din Rumi, the famous founder of the Whirling Dervishes, especially the Mathnawi, the masterpiece of the mystical poet who died in Konya in 1273.
The name Ali al-Khawas may refer to two historical figures: either the author of an equally celebrated Arabic treatise on courtly love, “The Ring of the Dove” (Tawq Al-Hamama), who was better known under the name of Ibn Hazm (†1064) and who, while dispensing genuine spiritual wisdom, never directly claimed to be a Sufi; or to a teacher of another Sufi in the modern period, Sharani (†1565), who was in fact named Ali al-Khawas al-Burulusi (†1532-33). The latter, however, is said to have been illiterate and to have left only oral teachings.
The absence of an exact reference in the footnote of the Sufi anthology is in keeping with Pope Francis’ aim: he often likes to illustrate his ideas by referring to authorities outside Christianity. He used the same approach in other places in the encyclical, for example by citing the Earth Charter.
But this reference to a religious text from another tradition, namely Sufism, is unprecedented. The Sufi tradition can be considered the most ascetic and most mystical in Islam.
There is a certain propaganda, which incidentally has also given rise to the worst fantasies that claims Sufism is not an integral part of Islam. On the contrary, the very history of the Sufis shows that they are indeed rooted in the religion of the Prophet Muhammad.
If one were to sum up their doctrine in a few words, one could definitely assert that it pertains to an interior journey of initiation (one cannot dispense with the tie to a teacher and a community), which leads the Sufi to inner purification or complete control over the nafs, the unruly soul that does not respond to the will of God.
The encyclical directly touches the core of Sufism when it quotes the text attributed to Khawas, for the spirit of the purified Sufi sees the world only as an emanation of God. Through this footnote, Pope Francis is extending his hand to the best forces of Islam to stand together with Christians against the degradation of our environment.
On the Sufi side, the International Sufi Council held in Istanbul on September 10-11, which I was fortunate to attend as an invited member, enthusiastically greeted the openness indicated by the encyclical, and even volunteered to go and see the pope to continue the dialogue with a view to protecting the heritage of humanity: the Earth.
Alberto Fabio Ambrosio, O.P.
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Meet the Muslim Mystic Pope Francis Cited in His Encyclical
Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change cited many of the usual sources: the Bible, his predecessors in the Vatican and his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi. It also cites ninth century mystical Muslim poet Ali-al-Khawas.
In the sixth chapter of the nearly 200-page papal letter, Francis writes that humanity can “discover God in all things.”
“The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face,” the pope writes.
In a footnote to that quote, he credits al-Khawas for the concept of nature’s “mystical meaning,” noting how the poet stressed “the need not to put too much distance between the creatures of the world and the interior experience of God.”
He then directly quotes the poet: “The initiate will capture what is being said when the wind blows, the trees sway, water flows, flies buzz, doors creak, birds sing, or in the sound of strings or flutes, the sighs of the sick, the groans of the afflicted.”
Alexander Knysh, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Michigan, said that the idea Pope Francis is drawing on in this passage has been influential in literature, including Western figures such as English Romantic poet William Blake.
“According to (the idea), God actively and constantly reminds his servants about his immanent presence not just by means of various phenomena but also by various sounds and noises—rustling of leaves, thunder, rainfall,” Knysh says.
It’s unusual for a pope to cite a Sufi poet, but those who have known Francis since his days in the slums of Argentina say that shows his personal touch on the encyclical.
“He’s trying to foster ecumenical and interfaith dialogue about shared spirituality,” Father Augusto Zampini, an Argentinian priest and theological advisor to the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, tells TIME.
“He’s inviting all human beings to transcend, to go out of themselves and therefore to improve the relationship that we have with our people, with the Earth, with God.”
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