Abstract Rumi’s Masnavi is one of the most profound works of Persian mystical literature, rich in metaphors and allegories, and it conveys spiritual concepts and religious meaning. The metaphor of the way plays a central role in illustrating the spiritual journey toward unity with the divine. This article explores the concept of the way in the Masnavi by analysing conceptual metaphors that...
Abstract This article examines metaphors of freedom in Rumi’s Masnavi through the lens of the Simile Theory, which posits that metaphors are condensed forms of similes, grounded in similarities between two conceptual domains. Rumi employs two distinct types of metaphors to convey the concept of freedom: apparently similar metaphors (e.g., liberation, breaking chains) and apparently opposite...
ʿ Abd al-Kar ī m al-Qu š ayr ī ’ s (d. 456/1072) statement “ praiseworthy speech is talking to God with the tongue of the heart ” 1 evokes a fundamental assumption shared across the Su fi tradition: that the encounter between God and the seeker unfolds in a mode of expression not reducible to ordinary speech. This “ tongue of the heart ” signals a register in which metaphor becomes...