Rumi and Mystical Experience
Michael Nazir-Ali
July 2, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003711544-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Soul Pilgrimage Spirituality Religious experience Literature Aesthetics Theology |
| Key points | Argues that in Rumi's Mathnawi, mystical experience is an inward, sensory knowing of the Beloved, where the soul becomes like the Divine without being identical to it. |
Abstract
Mystical experience in Rumi is compared to the directness of sight. It is not just about words. It is about knowing the Beloved. It is also compared to smelling a delightful aroma, and its interior or ‘heart’ aspect is emphasised. The Sufi’s pilgrimage is not merely an external destination but a journey inwards. It is there that God is found. In the Mathnawi , at least, he does not completely identify the soul with the Divine. Rather, the soul, in its nearness to God, takes on the characteristics of the Divine, just as iron in fire becomes hot and glowing, while remaining iron. Spiritual experience is spoken of as rebirth and as a return to the soul’s place of origin.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Vectorial Cerebral Hemisphericity as Differential Sources for the Sensed Presence, Mystical Experiences and Religious Conversions | 1993 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The epistemic innocence of psychedelic states. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine | 1982 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |