The Concept of Suffering and Salvation in Rumi’s Mathnawi from the Perspective of Existential Moral Philosophy

Abstract

The problem of suffering is one of the most fundamental existential concerns of human beings; it is a problem that occupies a central place both in religious and mystical traditions and in modern philosophies, particularly existential philosophy. In the Islamic mystical tradition, especially in Rumi’s thought, suffering is not merely a negative, destructive, or meaningless phenomenon; rather, it can serve as a prelude to awakening, self-knowledge, rupture from heedlessness, and movement toward salvation. From this perspective, the Mathnawi-ye Ma‘nawi is a work in which experiences of pain, separation, anxiety, death-consciousness, frustration, failure, bewilderment, and seeking are interpreted within an educational and ethical horizon. On the other hand, existential moral philosophy, by emphasizing freedom, responsibility, authenticity, anxiety, choice, and the individual’s confrontation with limit-situations, also regards suffering as one of the ways through which the truth of human existence is disclosed. This study seeks to analyze the concept of suffering and its relationship with salvation in Rumi’s Mathnawi from the perspective of existential moral philosophy. The research method is descriptive-analytical and is based on a conceptual and comparative reading. The findings indicate that, in Rumi’s thought, suffering acquires meaning when it separates the human being from the false self, egoic attachments, and everyday existence, and leads the individual toward awareness of existential poverty, the need for truth, divine love, and ethical responsibility. From this perspective, suffering in the Mathnawi is not the end of the path, but the beginning of the human being’s existential and ethical transformation. Furthermore, a comparison between Rumi’s thought and certain existentialist themes shows that although Rumi and existential philosophers differ in their metaphysical and theological foundations, they share significant points of dialogue in their attention to lived experience, anxiety, death-consciousness, freedom, choice, and the necessity of existential authenticity.