مهدی دهقانی فیروزآبادی

SUBJECT AND OBJECTIVES : Although Jalaluddin Rumi and William Blake hail from different literary and cultural contexts, their poems bear interesting affinities. However, these affinities have not been fully addressed by scholars. This paper will examine the role of reason in the poetry of Rumi and Blake with regard to human endeavor towards pure life which is union with God. In other words, the researchers attempt to find out how it is possible to gain an in-depth understanding of the theme of reason in the poetry of Rumi and Blake through analyzing and interpreting their poems. In addition, the study tries to see what the similarities and differences between the poetry of Rumi and Blake are in a comparative manner, especially with regard to the theme of reason. METHOD AND FINDING : The selected poems will be from Rumi’s “Masnavi” and Blake’s “Book of Urizen” and “Four Zoas”. To compare both poets’ views on reason, Totosy de Zepetnek’s approach of inclusion will be employed. This comparative study is constructed on the doctrine of perennial philosophy led by Aldous Huxley. The discussion will concentrate on two main aspects namely, partial reason and its function as a barrier to the good and pure life (Hayāt Tayyiba) as a desirable human lifestyle and union with God. The second aspect concerns universal reason and its function as a bridge to union with the Absolute Being. CONCLUSION : Even though Rumi and Blake are originally from diverse geographical, political, social, and religious milieu, they have shared common ideas regarding the concepts of reason. Thus, a comparative study of the two literary giants will pave the way for those who are interested in finding the commonalities of Sufism and Romanticism particularly in the poetry of Rumi and Blake.

Since the revelation of the Holy Qur'an to the Prophet Mohammad, Muslim thinkers have been interested in the interpretation of the 35th verse of the Surah "Light". From Fārābi, Avicenna and Sohrawardi to contemporary Islamic scholars, the structure, content and symbolism of this verse, reputed by the title of the verse of the Light, have been studied and commented on several methods. Imam Abu Hamed Mohammad Al-Ghazali (1058-1111), the Great Iranian Master of jurisprudence, theology, ethics, philosophy, logic and gnostic has written a very concise essay on this subject, in order to answer the question of a disciple who asks him to interpret this qur'anic verse. This book, written in Arabic, is called "Mishkat-al-Anwar", which means "The Niche of the lights". In this article, we will faithfully follow the approach taken by Al-Ghazali, this famous Muslim thinker, who was born in Iranian region of Khorasan at the time of the Seljukide dynasty, to explain the qur'anic notion of the Light.