The Face of Sadness in Persian Mystical Tradition

Abstract

Sadness is a feeling that dominates all Persian literary culture. Over the centuries, it has changed its face, manifesting itself in various forms with changing meanings and contents. One of the most important traditions, which for centuries has been a carrier of the idea of sadness in the literary culture of Iran, is Sufism. Sadness was strengthened in the consciousness of the Iranian people especially by Persian mystical poetry. This raises many questions: how Persian Sufi tradition defines sadness, what kind of sadness it distinguishes, how it is interpreted by different practitioners in the role it gives to the process of shaping human consciousness, and how it perceives sadness from the point of view of axiology. This article deals with the feeling of sadness, especially the sadness of separation, and its axiological aspects in Persian mystical literature. The basic source material consists of works by the greatest mystical poets, e.g. Sanā‘i (11th c.), ‘Attār from Nishapur (12th c.), Moulānā Jalāloddin Balkhi (12th c.), Hāfez Shirāzi (14th c.).