Fieldnotes on Humanity

You can feel the spiritual power of this Sufis dancing in this video. You can feel the energy that emanates from their chanting, their circling, the clapping and pounding. This kind of ritual is rare in the Muslim world, but still exist in some part of the world. They are Chechen Sufis as part of a larger group of Sufi brotherhoods. Chechnya is mostly Muslim, and they relate to the Shafi'i school of thought. Their mystical tradition is mixed of muridism (according to Arabic Al-Ma'ani dictionary , murid means adherent or disciple) and in which a Murshid (spiritual teacher or guide) plays a central role in the spiritual journey. Some of Chechen associate themselves with different branches of Sufism. Mainly there are two tariqas (order) in the north of Caucasus region: Naqshbandiyah and the Qadiriyah. The word that they keep repeating is ' Yahu or Yahoo (which in English means oaf or a lout person),' not the website though, it is an Arabic term and is a pronoun f...

Dew evaporated as soon as the dawn’s veil was taken off Oh, companion! I just recalled my love, au revoir! Tā sahar bi-parda gardad, shabnam az khod rafta ast Al-widā' ay ham-nishīnān! delbaram āmad ba yād تا سحر بی پرده گردد، شبنم از خود رفته است الوداع ای هم نشینان! دلبرم آمد به یاد Poem by Mīrzā Abdul-Qādir Bidel (Trans. Nasim Fekrat, May 26, 2016)

Across ages, we are being amused at expressing worthlessness and we are the opener of pages of the stories of nothingness You could expect nothing from us, but name we are the messengers of the world of nothingness عمریست که سرگرم ِ بیان ِ هیچیم طومارگشای  داستان ِ هیچیم با نامی از آن میان، ز ما قانع باش ما قاصد ِ پیغام ِ جهان ِ هیچیم ’aumr î st k î sargarm-e bay â n-e heech îm tum â r gush â yee d â st â n-e heechim b â n â mi az â n m îy â n, zi m â qane ’a b â sh m â q â sed-e paigh â m-e jah â n-e heech îm                                                                       By Mirza Bidel                                   ...

I published this on my photoblog , and today, I thought, why shouldn't I post it here as well. Well, this headless person who plays this piece of music on Rabab is me. I improvised this melody while I was procrastinating with my homework. I recorded it last year when I was in college and presented it to a friend. I’m a beginner and pardon me for any mistake if you noticed. Rabab is one of the most respected instruments in Afghanistan and in fact, it was originated in Herat, western Afghanistan, and then spread throughout Indian subcontinent. Those who are familiar with the history of the Mongol Invasion of India, especially, with the Delhi Sultanate in 1200, and the spread of Islamic mysticism through Afghan Sufis, they can understand the influence of this mystic instrument on Indian music as well. Rabab - though slightly different in shape - is widely used in Indian classical music today, which has also an immense influence on Afghan classical music. It is...

  One of the instruments that constantly comes in Rumi poetry is Rubab. In Rumi's time, Rubab was one of the main instruments that was played in Khanqah (the Sufi lodges). Up to the present time, Rubab remains an influential instrument in Khanqahs, and other Sufi gatherings in Afghanistan. He probably liked Rubab because of its rhythmic sounds. It produces the sound of ecstasy, it echoes, it bounces, and rebounds, and one can imagine how it would have sounded in a sufi lodge with a high ceiling, and how the sounds and melodies reverberated through the souls of Sufis.  Here what Rumi says about the sounds of Rubab:                   "Do you know what the voice of the rabab is saying?                   Come follow in my steps and find the way;                 ...