A Study of the Reflection of Sama' in the Mirror of Sufism by Sana'i, Attar and Rumi with the Approach of Shariat

Sufism is an artistic approach to the universe and the loving worship of God as the eternal Beloved. Since the beginning of the formation of Sufism and mysticism in Islamic culture, many customs, premises, principles and terms have been disputed between the followers of the path and the scholars of the law. Although the claimants of the Sharia and Tariqa have always sought to reach the truth, sometimes religious, sectarian and even individual differences have caused them to stray from the truth. Among the matters on which there is no consensus are the positions, circumstances, dhikr and Sama'. Sama' has always been a matter of dispute among the followers of Tariqa and the followers of Sharia, and throughout the history of Sufism and mysticism, they have never reached an agreement. This research, using a descriptive-analytical method, has examined the reflection of Sama' from the mystical perspective of Sana'i, Attar, and Rumi, referring to reliable library documents and sources, and has reached the following conclusions: Sana'i, following the thoughts of the scholars of Sharia, considered Sama' and passion and mood to be unpleasant and condemned them. However, Attar and Rumi, following the people of Tariqa, have accepted Sama' as a religious tool and have believed that Sama', provided that vulgarity and immorality are avoided, can lead to intimacy. Furthermore, if Sama' is accompanied by "mood", it will elevate the soul and inner joy of the seeker, and if it is mixed with forbidden belongings and the impurities of lust, it will cause the roar of the demon of lust.
Introduction
The longing for the beloved reflects such passion and ecstasy within the lover's being that the human soul loses the patience to remain confined to its physical body in order to reach its true destination. Sometimes, this truth is attained through the seeker's voluntary return, aided by the guide and the beloved, symbolized by the breathing process. Other times, it occurs through a forced return, manifested as death—drowning and dissolving into the boundless sea of God, thereby becoming one with ultimate reality. Along the path of the seeker, with voluntary return in a group, sometimes with the help of performing the obligatory duties and abandoning the forbidden and unquestioning obedience to the Sharia. And sometimes in a group with the help of mystical and seemingly artificial ways and recommended practices taken from other religions such as listening, reciting the admonitions in seclusion, austerity and other recommended practices. Since the beginning of the formation of Sufism and mysticism in Islamic culture, many customs, introductions, principles, and terms have been disputed among the followers of the path and legislators.
Although the proponents of Sharia and its path have always sought to reach the truth, religious, sectarian, and even individual differences have sometimes caused them to stray from it. Sama’ has long been a subject of dispute between the followers of the spiritual path and adherents of the Sharia. Throughout the history of Sufism and mysticism, they have never reached a consensus. The term Sama’ is a noun meaning but figuratively, it refers to ecstasy, mood, dance, joy, and a pleasant song. Sama’ is a song that transforms the listener’s mood. Among mystics, it is regarded as a form of worship and prayer. The listener becomes so immersed in the sublime realms that they feel as if they have been engulfed by waves of divine light, thereby detaching from all worldly attachments and turning inward. Poems composed in this gathering often consist of ascetic verses and divine invocations, and they do not conflict with or contradict the Sunnah and Sharia. There is no precise information about the origin of Sama, but it appears to have a non-Islamic religious background. Initially, it was performed in places of worship and during religious ceremonies, gradually becoming popular among mystics as a meritorious practice. These rituals were often conducted in monasteries, tekkes, and khanqahs.
Method
The research method in this study was descriptive-analytical and referred to reliable library documents and sources through file retrieval. After studying the required sources, taking notes, and classifying the forms, the author has reached some conclusions by examining the opinions and thoughts of those who support and oppose Sama', as well as the position of Sama' from the perspective of Sharia and Tariqah, and analyzing existing theories.
Results
Views on Sama' differ. A group of Shia and Sunni scholars have considered Sama' to be forbidden, and they consider any song or music that is considered appropriate for gatherings of debauchery, immorality, and sin and that stimulates the sexual powers to be forbidden. However, if a song or music does not contain the above-mentioned corruptions, according to the theory of the majority of jurists, listening to it is permissible. Mulla Hassan Faiz-Kashani and Mulla Muhammad Sabzewari, after citing narrations about singing, say: “From the collection of evidence, it can be concluded that the prohibition of singing is specific to cases that involve a forbidden act of depravity and sin, such as: playing with musical instruments for fun, speaking lies and falsehood, raising a woman’s voice, and revealing her virtues in the presence of men who are not , as was common during the era of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs. therwise, singing in itself, without being associated with religious prohibitions, is not considered inherently forbidden, and singing poems that involve religious and otherworldly interests and cause attention to asceticism, worship, and a desire for good deeds is not forbidden.” Imam Muhammad Ghazali, one of the mystics and scholars of the fifth century AH, also divided listening into four categories: forbidden listening, disliked listening, permissible listening, and recommended listening.
Listening to music is forbidden for young people and those dominated by lust because it stimulates undesirable qualities. It is discouraged for those who have become accustomed to it and engage in it merely for entertainment and wasting time. However, listening to music is permissible for those who derive no benefit from it other than enjoying pleasant sounds. Moreover, it is recommended for those whose love of God increases through it and who are only stimulated by pleasing qualities. In this article, in addition to the opinions of Shia and Sunni scholars and the position of listening to music in Islam, as well as the early Islamic scholars and the followers of the Tariqat, the thoughts and beliefs of poets such as Sana'i, Attar and Rumi regarding listening to music are discussed. However, it seems that despite all the intellectual and intellectual affinities of these three poets, one of their distinguishing aspects in discussing listening to music is that Sana'i's perspective and viewpoint are close to the opinions and thoughts of the scholars of Islamic law and the followers of Sharia. But Attar and Rumi are more in line with the people of Tariqat and mystics.
Conclusion
According to reliable narrations of the Shiite sect, the jurists of this sect consider Samaa as singing to be haram, although some have issued fatwas disapproving of it and others have issued fatwas permitting it. Sheikh Kulayni has narrated in the book Kafi from Imam Sadiq (AS), the head of the Jafari Shia sect: The Imam (AS) has forbidden his followers from stamping their feet, dancing, and playing drums and flutes. Sayyid Murtaza Hasni, the author of Tabarat al-Awam, has severely criticized the Sufis and has detested and condemned their Samaa, waving their hands, and stamping their feet.
Sanai, who is the pioneer of Persian-speaking poets in the field of Sufism and mysticism, considers listening to music as a sensual art. He writes poems condemning it, saying that from his perspective, music is created by Satan and that it touches someone's ear with its sexual organ, thereby polluting his soul, and therefore he considers it a veil and an obstacle to the path of the seeker. Although Sanai was a follower of the path and wrote poetry in Sufism and brought specific themes, he considered music and music to be a stimulus for human lust and adultery.
- essence is happy with music     
- that music brings nothing but adultery
Sanai, in a romantic ghazal addressed to the beloved, after describing the eternal beauty and love of Lamizli, alluding to Moses going to the Miqat and talking to God. When the manifestation of the Lordship of the Spirit takes place, He spoke of this hearing in an artistic way: “And when Moses came to Our meeting and his Lord spoke to him, he said, ‘My Lord, show me Your face so that I may look at You.’ He said, ‘You will never see me.’” (Al-A’raf: 143) Attar considers hearing to be poison for the beginner, and the listener's tongue is constantly in a state of alertness and intoxication, remembering God:
- But for the beginner, it is a constant poison
- If you sit for a moment in that gathering
- When his soul has become a living being
- You will eat the seed of happiness that is planted
- You will eat the assembly of the water of life
- Be present here if you can (Attar, 1362: 22)
Attar, who considers himself a student of Sanai and has benefited from his works, is in fact the link between the mystical thoughts of Sanai and Rumi Jalaluddin, and it can be said: his logic of flight is influenced by Sanai's Hadiqa al-Haqiqa, the result of which is that: Attar is a poet familiar with pain who has had a complete success with hearing. According to Rumi, hearing is the harmony of man with the movement of all beings in the world. He considers the beautiful song to be a heavenly song that resonates everywhere and at all times, and the rotation of the heavens sings a song with the following content: “All that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth glorifies Allah” (Jumu’ah: 1). Man writes, reproduces, and recreates the songs of nature with his instrument or his voice. Hearing the voice and song from the beloved or the manifestations of the beloved's voice is one of the divine provisions for the lover, and the lover prides himself on hearing the voice of the beloved and reaches unity with the beloved:
- So the wise have said that these tones
- We took from the wheel
- It is the sound of the wheel's revolutions that the creation
- Sings it with the tambourine and the throat
- Believers say that the works of heaven
- Turn every ugly song
- We have been all parts of man
- We have heard those tones in heaven
- Although water and mud of doubt have been poured upon us
- Let us remember a little of them
- But when it is mixed with the dust
- Who will give this low and high pitch of joy?
- So the food of lovers came, Sama
- that he may have the imagination of the community
- that the imaginations of the conscience take power
- but rather take form from the cry of the sapphire (Maulvi, 1386, Book IV: 575)
The Maulviyyah method, which is one of the most important methods of mysticism and Sufism. They are followers of Maulvi and attach great importance to Sama, so much so that every year in Konya on the occasion of Maulvi's anniversary (Urs), they hold a world-class Sama gathering. Sultan Walad, the son of Maulvi, writes in Rabab Nameh: Maulvi became a captive of the love and attraction of Shams al-Din and left everything he had aside and instead of preaching and guiding, he devoted himself to poetry, dancing, Sama and the present.
Maulvi would perform Sama in the blacksmiths' market to the rhythm of the hammer and mallet. He sighed and uttered drunken cries, and the people of taste circled with him: Rumi has reached love and mysticism (present) from the grip and narrowness of formal knowledge, and with this expansion and unfoldment of the heart, he has become the model and leader of true mystics.
- We, let us not look at the outside and the word
- In true listening, not everyone is anything
- We, let us look at the inside and the present
- The food of every bird is not figs
The final words are: That noble one considers listening to be the food of lovers and believes that the circle of listening is the cause of the gathering of true mystics and the source of anger and ridicule of those who deny listening to it and of shallow and crude individuals.