Rumi and Sadi's Contribution to the Promotion of the Humanistic ‎Culture

Abstract

With its sweetness and bitterness, with its fantasy and reality, literature is the soul of human culture. It graces civilizations with beauty, morality, and the love of humanity. It seeks to prompt human culture to march towards excellence and elegance and maintain distance from vileness and wickedness. With its stress on diversity, it strives to curb violence and arrogance. Its ideal lies in bestowing love, peace, and integrity upon the chaotic and materialistic existence to deliver it from meaninglessness and vulgarity. Thus, this article invokes Mathew Arnold's idea of culture to bring into light the contribution of two classical Persian poets: Rumi and Sadi, to the promotion of the humanistic culture. To this end, firstly, this article will briefly discuss the enemies and defenders of literature. Then it will dwell on the notion of culture from the perspective of Mathew Arnold. Secondly, it will highlight how Rumi preaches his faith in the humanistic culture by advocating tolerance and critiquing zealotry and fundamentalism in religion. Finally, it will illuminate how Sadi brings into fore his conviction about the humanistic culture by taking sides with the disfranchised maiden as well as by satirizing the older man desiring to marry her by the power of his wealth and the gift of gab.