Sufipoetry, for private devotional reading and as lyrics for music played during worship, or dhikr, has been written in many languages. Themes and styles established in Arabic and Persian poetry have had an enormous influence on Sufi poetry throughout the Islamic world. Sufism (Arabic تصÙÙ tasÌ£awwuf) is a mystic tradition of Islam based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as it is gradually revealed to the heart and mind of the Sufi (one who practices Sufism). ... Poetry (ancient Greek: ÏÎ¿Î¹ÎµÏ (poieo) = I create) is traditionally a written art form (although there is also an ancient and modern poetry which relies mainly upon oral or pictorial representations) in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Arabic. ... Arabic (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Persian (ÙØ§Ø±Ø³Û = Fârsi . ...
In this sense, such a view of Sufipoetry as the absolute opposite of the modern is very much an abstraction and mystification of the reality of Sufipoetry, and could result in precisely further antagonism and repression from an advanced and adult West.
But for the Sufi poets, who lived in a Persia ravaged by religious extremism, feudal dictatorships and the extraordinarily brutal Mongolian invasion, there existed a crucial need to oppose these calamities and horrors through the medium of poetry and the powers of language and imagination.
As such, Sufipoetry can be seen as a political struggle against the peoples belligerent and tyrannical rulers, as well as an equally politicised artistic movement against the ignorance and dogmatic perceptions common among most Persians and Muslims during the poets lives.