Şūfī Language and the Opening of Signification: al-Ḥallāj as an Example

Abstract

The present paper studies the use of the Şūfī al-Ḥusayn b. Manşūr al-Ḥallāj as a mask in modern Arabic poetry, specifically the influence this figure exerted on Adūnīs (‘Alī Aḥmad Sa’īd; b. 1930), ‘Abd al-Wahāb al-Bayyātī (1926-1999) and Şalāḥ ‘Abd al-Şabūr (1931-1981). It examines how these poets used al-Ḥallāj’s mask in order to express contemporary national, social and meta-poetical issues. The paper will also demonstrate the intentional use which these poets made of al-Ḥallāj’s sufferings and the story of his crucifixion. They turned him into a saint who died because he refused to give up his values and philosophies in order to express their own sufferings. Contemporary poets, thus, made al-Ḥallāj acquire a new spiritual dimension, quite different from his reputation in Muslim theology, where he had become a symbol of heresy, non-conformism and dissidence. The paper will show the various levels at which “Ḥallāj” thought can be used, whether as a mask and the tale of his execution or Şūfī expressions and ideas that have historically been associated with him