صوفیانہ شاعری میں محبت کا تصور: رومی سے بلھے شاہ تک

The Concept of Love in Sufi Poetry: From Rumi to Bulleh Shah

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of love (‘ishq) in Sufi poetry, concentrating on two prominent mystical poets: Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207–1273) and Bulleh Shah (1680–1757). Within the Sufi tradition, love transcends the ordinary bounds of human emotion; it is regarded as a sacred force that leads the soul from selfhood (nafs) toward divine union. Rumi, writing in Persian during the Seljuk era, presents love as a metaphysical reality that consumes the ego through fana (annihilation of the self) and culminates in wahdat al-wujūd (unity of being). His works, especially the Masnavi and the Divan-e Shams, portray love as both transformative and universal, a path that elevates human existence beyond rationality into mystical gnosis. In contrast, Bulleh Shah, a Punjabi poet of the Mughal period, situates love in the lived realities of his society. His kafi verses employ vernacular idioms, folk tales, and cultural metaphors to challenge orthodoxy, caste hierarchies, and sectarian boundaries. For him, love is both spiritual and revolutionary: a means of transcending ritualistic religion while affirming human equality and unity with the Divine. Although Rumi and Bulleh Shah differ in style, language, and historical context, their shared emphasis on love as a universal force illustrates the enduring role of Sufi poetry in bridging spiritual and social dimensions. This comparative study, using literary and postcolonial perspectives, demonstrates that Sufi poetry frames love as a timeless language of devotion, spirituality, and reform, resonating across cultures and epochs.