Zohra as an Ascension Motif in the Works of Rumi


The story of the star that is known as “Zohra” in the Eastern classics fundamentally differs from the usual stories of women which are often filled with unfortunate events and downfalls. The great Turkish thinker and mystic Rumi mentions Zohra in various ways in his writings. According to him, Zohra is a woman who rises in the skies to evolve and become a star. This is in contrast with the story of Adam and Eve in Abrahamic religions which is about the downfall from heavens and condemnation to the clay. Zohra has been replaced with angels in the sky. The names of these angels are mentioned in the Qur'an as Harut and Marut. They saw that the people of the earth had sinned and complained to God, and God sent them to the earth, giving them the emotions that caused people to sin. The angels who met Zohra here fell in love with her and wanted to be together. Zohra made good use of this opportunity and somehow learned the secret of trapping them and rising to the sky. As Zohra rose up into the sky and turned into a star, they were hanged upside down in the Babylonian well. Rumi mentions Zohra in close relation with musical instruments, singing, wine, love and beauty. The sacred day of Zohra is Friday. Friday is also the blessed day for Muslims. Taking the fact into account that the objective of the mysticism is the love of God, the profound message to be delivered in this instance can be interpreted as the mental inebriety, joy and rapture of the human soul, independent of and in contrast to the superficial feminine figure that is associated with wine, musical instruments and mundane joy. Ascending to the sky is an expression of being close to God. The achievement of this by a woman is due to the symbolization of the nafs with the woman in Sufism.


Keywords


History of Religions, Zohra star, feminine concept, Rumi, ascension

Author : Nermin ÖZTÜRK
Number of pages: 1411-1422
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/TurkishStudies.42046
Full text:
Share:
Alıntı Yap:
Atıf Sayısı: : 1
Turkish Studies-Social Sciences
E-Mail Subscription

By subscribing to E-Newsletter, you can get the latest news to your e-mail.