A Study of Separation and Longing in Rumi’s Mystical Worldview in the Masnavi-ye Ma‘navi

Abstract

Separation and longing are among the key and frequently recurring terms in Persian mystical poetry. These two concepts also occur with high frequency in Rumi’s works, including the Masnavi, and he addresses them in various ways, particularly in discussing the relationship between the human being and God. Therefore, examining the concepts of separation and longing in Rumi’s Masnavi can help elucidate Rumi’s mystical worldview. Considering Rumi’s eminent position in mystical literature, this analytical-descriptive article, written through a library-based method, examines separation and longing in Rumi’s mystical worldview in the Masnavi. The findings indicate that the themes of separation and longing are prominent and highly emphasized in the Masnavi, and that every verse and statement manifests separation from the true Beloved and the longing to return to one’s origin. The reflection of the theme of the account of separation and the pain of longing in Rumi’s mystical world is so extensive that nearly most of the narratives in his Masnavi revolve around separation and longing and can be explained and interpreted from this perspective. Moreover, in the Masnavi, we encounter the account of separation more than that of longing. Separation is pain, and longing is the lamentation of this pain. Separation plants the seed of longing; longing causes the sapling of patience and perseverance to grow; and this sapling ultimately reaches the tree of divine unity and union. In other words, separation reveals to the human being his non-being and poverty, while longing is the force that drives him toward the Bestower of being and the Absolutely Self-Sufficient.