Sama

Sama (Arabic: سَمَاع‎ – samā‘un) is a Sufi ceremony performed as dhikr. Sama means “listening”, while dhikr means “remembrance”. These rituals often includes singing, playing instruments, dancing, recitation of poetry and prayers, wearing symbolic attire, and other rituals. It is a particularly popular form of worship in the Chisti order of the Indian subcontinent.

Etymology

This term stems from the root-verb meaning acceptance by tradition, from which derives the words سَمْع (sam‘^un) and اِسْتِمَاع (’istimā‘^un, listening), often paired with نَقْل (naql^un) and تَقْلِيد (taqlīd^un, tradition). It may have been in use since the 10th century to refer to a type of dhikr (remembrance of God), aspiritual concert, a ceremony used by various Sufi orders, particularly the Chisti order of the sub-continent. It often involves prayer, song and dance.

Origin

The origination of Sama is credited to Rumi, Sufi master and creator of the Mevlevis. The story of the creation of this unique form of dhikr is that Rumi was walking through the town marketplace one day when he heard the rhythmic hammering of the goldbeaters. It is believed that Rumi heard the dhikr, “la ilaha ilallah” or in English, “no god but Allah” in the apprentices beating of the gold and so entranced in happiness he stretched out both of his arms and started spinning in a circle (sufi whirling). With that the practice of Sema and the dervishes of the Mevlevi order were born. The sama’ has roots in Persian and Turkish culture, and is associated with oriental traditions.
Abu Sa`id, (357 A.H.) (967 c.e.) was born in Mayhana, a town near Sarakhs, which today is in the former Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan, bordering Iran. He is noted for establishing a rule for conduct in the khanaqah and also for the introduction of music (sama’), poetry and dance, as part of the Sufi collective devotional ritual of dhikr.

Symbolism

The Sama represents a mystical journey of man’s spiritual ascent through mind and love to perfection. Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth and arrives at perfection. He then returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, so as to love and to be of service to the whole of creation. Rumi has said in reference to Sama’, “For them it is the Sama’ of this world and the other. Even more for the circle of dancers within the Sama’ who turn and have in their midst, their own Ka’aba.” This relates Sama’ to the pilgrimage to Mecca, in that both are intended to bring all who are involved closer to God.

Components

Sama emphasizes singing, but also includes the playing of instruments, particularly for introductions and accompaniments. However, only instruments which are symbolic and not considered profane are used. The most common of these are the tambourine, bells, and flute. It often includes the singing of hymns, called qawl and bayt. Poetry is often included in the ceremony as well, because while it is inadequate by itself, it works together with aid in spiritual contemplation. Any poetry, even the erotic, can be applied to God, and thus used for this ceremony. However, the listener’s heart must first be pure, or the dancing components of sama’ will make these people full of lust instead of love for God. Additionally, being in love with a person rather than with God clouds a person’s mind when they are listening to erotic poetry. Verses from the Qur’an are never used for this purpose, and not only because their meanings are said to be somewhat dulled through repetition. Qur’anic verses are never to be set to meditation, nor ornamented or improvised in any way, so that they remain sacred texts.

Purpose

Sama is a means of meditating on God through focusing on melodies and dancing. It brings out a person’s love of God, purifies the soul, and is a way of finding God. This practice is said to reveal what is already in one’s heart, rather than creating emotions. All of a person’s doubt disappears, and the heart and soul can communicate directly with God. The immediate goal of sama’ is to reach wajd, which is a trance-like state of ecstasy.Physically, this state may include various and unexpected movements, agitation, and all types of dancing. Another state that people hope to reach through sama’ is khamra, which means “spiritual drunkenness”. Ultimately, people hope to achieve the unveiling of mysteries and gain spiritual knowledge through wajd. Sometimes, the experience of wajd becomes so strong that fainting or even, in extreme circumstances, death, occurs.

Etiquette

Participants in sama are expected to remain silent and still, and controlled throughout the ceremony, unless wajd occurs. This way, a higher degree of spiritual contemplation can be reached. Participants must restrain themselves from movement and crying until they reach a point in which they can no longer hold back. At this point, wajd can be reached. It is essential that the trance-like experience of wajd be genuine and not faked for any reason. Also, people must maintain proper intent and actions must be present throughout the sama’; otherwise, they cannot experience the ceremony’s intended positive effects.

Controversy

Muslims are divided into two groups regarding the issue of sama and the use of music in general: 1) Advocates, which are most Sufis and other mystics, and 2) Opponents.
Advocates view chants as a required practice for spiritual growth. Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali was a firm advocate for music, and believed that wajd aroused passionate love for God Al-Ghazzali wrote a chapter entitled “Concerning Music and Dancing as Aids to the Religious Life”, where he emphasized how the practices of music and dance are beneficial to Muslims, as long as their hearts are pure before engaging in these practices.
Opponents find music as an Innovation bidah and associated with infidelity. They compare the physical sensations experienced by a person in the state of wajd to a state of physical drunkenness, and therefore do not condone it.

In Practice

Due to differences in culture between Muslim groups, participation in musical performance is condoned in some and considered questionable in others. Meditation and Sufi practices are allowed in Islam as long as they are within the limits of the Shari’ah (Islamic law). All castes can participate, although there is debate between Sufis and legalists about whether novice Sufis and ones more advanced in their faith are capable of achieving the same positive results from sama’. The same debate exists for the young, and whether they are capable of overcoming their lust and clearing their hearts to worship God.

Works

An Ottoman era manuscript depicting Rumi and Shams-e Tabrizi.

Image of Rumi on an old book in the Mevlâna museum; Konya, Turkey

Rumi’s poetry is often divided into various categories: the quatrains (rubayāt) and odes (ghazal) of the Divan, the six books of the Masnavi. The prose works are divided into The Discourses, The Letters, and the Seven Sermons.

Poetic works

Maṭnawīye Ma’nawī
Mevlana Museum, Konya, Turkey

• Rumi’s major work is the Maṭnawīye Ma’nawī (Spiritual Couplets; مثنوی معنوی), a six-volume poem regarded by some Sufis^[37] as the Persian-language Qur’an. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest works of mystical poetry.^[38] It contains approximately 27000 lines of Persian poetry.^[39]

Further information: Masnavi

• Rumi’s other major work is the Dīwān-e Kabīr (Great Work) or Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi|Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī (The Works of Shams ofTabriz; دیوان شمس تبریزی named in honor of Rumi’s master Shams. Besides approximately 35000 Persian couplets and 2000 Persian quatrains,^[40] the Divan contains 90 Ghazals and 19 quatrains in Arabic,^[41] a couple of dozen or so couplets in Turkish (mainly macaronic poems of mixed Persian and Turkish)^[42][43] and 14 couplets in Greek(all of them in three macaronic poems of Greek-Persian).^[44][45]

Further information: Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi

Prose works

• Fihi Ma Fihi (In It What’s in It, Persian: فیه ما فیه) provides a record of seventy-one talks and lectures given by Rumi on various occasions to his disciples. It was compiled from the notes of his various disciples, so Rumi did not author the work directly.^[46] An English translation from the Persian was first published by A.J. Arberry as Discourses of Rumi(New York: Samuel Weiser, 1972), and a translation of the second book by Wheeler Thackston, Sign of the Unseen(Putney, VT: Threshold Books, 1994).
• Majāles-e Sab’a (Seven Sessions, Persian: مجالس سبعه) contains seven Persian sermons (as the name implies) or lectures given in seven different assemblies. The sermons themselves give a commentary on the deeper meaning of Qur’an and Hadeeth. The sermons also include quotations from poems of Sana’i, ‘Attar, and other poets, including Rumi himself. As Aflakī relates, after Shams-e Tabrīzī, Rumi gave sermons at the request of notables, especially Salāh al-Dīn Zarkūb.^[47]
• Makatib (The Letters, Persian: مکاتیب) is the book containing Rumi’s letters in Persian to his disciples, family members, and men of state and of influence. The letters testify that Rumi kept very busy helping family members and administering a community of disciples that had grown up around them.

Mevlevi Order

The Mevlevi Order, or the Mevlevilik or Mevleviye (Persian: مولويه – Molavīyeh) are a Sufi order founded in Konya (in present-day Turkey) by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of dhikr (remembrance of God). Dervish is a common term for an initiate of the Sufi path; the whirling is part of the formal Sama ceremony and the participants are properly known as semazen-s.
Principles
Model of a dervish studyingThe Mawlawi order was founded in 1273 by Rumi’s followers after his death, particularly by his successor Hüsamettin Çelebi who decided to build a mausoleum for Mawlâna, and then Mawlâna’s son, Baha al-Din Muhammad-i Walad (or Çelebi, Chelebi, meaning “fully initiated”). He was an accomplished Sufi mystic with great organizing talents. His personal efforts were continued by his successor Ulu Arif Çelebi.The Mawlawi believe in performing their dhikr in the form of a “dance” and musical ceremony known as the Sama, which involves the whirling, from which the order acquired its nickname. The Sema represents a mystical journey of man’s spiritual ascent through mind and love to the “Perfect”. Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the “Perfect”. He then returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, able to love and to be of service to the whole of creation.Rumi has said in reference to Sema:”For them it is the Semaof this world and the other.Even more for the circle of dancerswithin the SemaWho turn and have, in their midst,their own Ka’aba.”and what he is saying is that when, like in Mecca you have come closer to God, likewise when you perform Sema you are also closer to God.

History
Mevlevi dervishes whirling in Pera by Jean-Baptiste van MourThe Mevlevi became a well-established Sufi order in the Ottoman Empire by realizing a blood relationship with the Ottoman sultans when Devlet Hatun, a descendant of Sultan Veled married the sultan Bayezid I. Their son Mehmed I Çelebi became the next sultan, endowing the order, as did his successors, with many gifts.
Mevlani museum in KonyaMany of the members of the order served in various official positions of the Caliphate. The centre for the Mawlawi order was in Konya, where their 13th century guiding spirit, Mewlana (Jelaleddin al-Rumi) is buried. There is also a Mevlevi monastery or dergah in Istanbul, near the Galata Tower, where the sama (whirling ceremony) is performed and accessible to the public.During the Ottoman Empire era, the Mevlevi order produced a number of famous poets and musicians such as Sheikh Ghalib, Ismail Ankaravi (both buried at the Galata Mevlevi-Hane) and Abdullah Sari. Vocal and instrumental music, especially the ney, plays an important role in the Mevlevi ceremony and famous composers such as Dede Efendi wrote music for the ayin (cycle of Mevlevi ceremonial music). The ayin text is normally a selection from the poetry of Mevlana. If one buys a CD of Turkish Sufi music, chances are it will be a Mevlevi ayin.During the Ottoman period, the Mevlevi order spread into the Balkans, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt (and is still practiced in both countries where they are known as the Mewlewi Order). The Bosnian writer Meša Selimović wrote the book “The Dervish and Death” about a Mevlevi dergah in Sarajevo.The Mevlevi Order has some similarities to other Dervish orders such as the Qadiri (founded in 1165), the Rifa’i (founded in 1182), and the Kalenderis.
The Mevlevi Regiment
During World War I, Mevlevi Regiment served in Syria and Palestine under the command of 4th Army. A battalion of some 800 dervishes was formed December 1914 in Konya (the Mucahidin-i Mevleviyye) and was sent to Damascus. Another battalion of regular recruits was added at the end of August 1916, and together they formed the Mevlevi Regiment. This unit did not fight until the end of the Palestine campaign and was disbanded at the end of September 1918.Mustafa Kemal met with members of the Mevlevi Order in 1923 before its institutional expression became illegal.[edit]Since 1925The Mevlevi Order was outlawed in Turkey in September 1925 by Atatürk’s new Turkish Republic. The Dervish lodge in Istanbul, Galata Mevlevihanesi, eventually became the Mevlana Museum.It is believed that since 1925, Rumi’s descendants still practiced their unique form of dancing zikr, called “semâ” by the Mevlevi. In 1954 the Mevlevi were given partial rights to perform semâ in public but primarily because it was important as a tourist attraction for Turkey, but as a Sufi order they are still banned.[14] In 1971, they performed in London with Kâni Karaca as lead singer. In 1972, they toured North America for the first time with Kâni Karaca, Ulvi Erguner, and Akagündüz Kutbay among the musicians. They performed in France, for Pope Paul VI, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and other venues in the United States and Canada – under the direction of the late Mevlevi Shaikh Suleyman Hayati Dede. In April 2007 the order initiated another tour of the U.S. where they performed to sold-out crowds in places such as Denver and San Francisco.The order is still active in Turkey, currently led by the 20th great-grandson (22nd generation descendant) of Rumî, Faruk Hemdem Çelebi. The Mevlevi Order survives because it managed to transform itself into a nonpolitical organization.

Presence in the United States
Suleiman Hayati Dede, the Mawlawi Sheikh of Konya, Turkey ordered his son in 1986 to go to America to spread the Mawlawi tradition to the West. Since then, his son Postneshin Jelaleddin Loras has established and is currently the Spiritual Director and President of the Mevlevi Order of America. His website has made the following statement in regards to their purpose in America. “The Mevlevi are mystics, believing that one’s path is to God. Mysticism is concerned with developing one’s abilities and capacity through emotional, intellectual, and physical practices. We greatly respect all genuine traditions of belief and faith which seek to accept the responsibility of humanity to care for each other and our world. We firmly reject the actions of those who pervert the words of God to justify violence for political ends.”

Who is Mevlana?

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی) and popularly known as Mevlānā in Turkey and Mawlānā[1] (Persian: مولانا) in Iran and Afghanistan but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273) was a 13th-century Persian Muslim poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rūmī is a descriptive name meaning “Roman” since he lived most of his life in an area called “Rumi” (then under the control of Seljuq dynasty) because it was once ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. He was one of the figures who flourished in theSultanate of Rum.
He was born in Balkh Province in Afghanistan. a small town located at the river Wakhsh in Persia (in what is now Tajikistan). Wakhsh belonged to the larger province of Balkh, and in the year Rumi was born, his father was an appointed scholar there. Both these cities were at the time included in the greater Persian cultural sphere of Khorasan, the easternmost province of Persia and was part of theKhwarezmian Empire.
His birthplace and native language both indicate a Persian heritage. His father decided to migrate westwards due to quarrels between different dynasties in Khorasan, opposition to the Khwarizmid Shahs who were considered devious by Bahā ud-Dīn Walad (Rumi’s father),[18]or fear of the impending Mongol cataclysm. Rumi’s family traveled west, first performing the Hajj and eventually settling in the Anatolian city Konya (capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, in present-day Turkey). This was where he lived most of his life, and here he composed one of the crowning glories of Persian literature which profoundly affected the culture of the area.
He lived most of his life under the Sultanate of Rum, where he produced his works and died in 1273 AD. He was buried in Konya and his shrine became a place of pilgrimage.[22] Following his death, his followers and his son Sultan Walad founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, famous for its Sufi dance known as the Sama ceremony.
Rumi’s works are written in the New Persian language. A Persian literary renaissance (in the 8th/9th century) started in regions of Sistan,Khorāsān and Transoxiana[23] and by the 10th/11th century, it reinforced the Persian language as the preferred literary and cultural language in the Persian Islamic world. Rumi’s importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His original works are widely read in their original language across the Persian-speaking world. Translations of his works are very popular in other countries. His poetry has influenced Persian literature as well as Urdu, Punjabi and other Pakistani languages written in Perso/Arabic script e.g. Pashto and Sindhi. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. In 2007, he was described as the “most popular poet in America.”