Spiritual language and symbolic expression in Sufi Poetry: semantic transfiguration and the limits of linguistic representation
Science Education and Innovations in the Context of Modern Problems October 5, 2025 Manel Berrefas
Sufi poetry uses spiritual language not to represent but to unveil the ineffable, transforming words from mere communication into an experiential, revelatory act. Poets like Ibn al-Fariḍ, al-Ḥallāj, and Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī transcend rational discourse through symbolism, metaphor, polysemy, silence, musicality, and repetition, converting poetry into an existential path toward divine union and gnosis. Contextualized within auditory rituals like samāʿ, Sufi discourse becomes an ontological event rather than a linguistic message; its meaning unfolds through dhawq (spiritual taste) and kashf (unveiling), inviting the reader to transcend cognition through presence, emotion, and symbol.