Spiritual language and symbolic expression in Sufi Poetry: semantic transfiguration and the limits of linguistic representation

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.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study examines the role of spiritual language in Sufi poetry as a medium of unveiling rather than representation.It situates mystical poetics within the broader epistemological problem of expressing the ineffable, where language ceases to function merely as a communicative instrument and instead becomes an experiential, revelatory act.The research interrogates how Sufi poets-such as Ibn al-Fri, al-allj, and Jall al-Dn Rm-transcend the limitations of rational discourse through a symbolic and emotionally charged lexicon that mirrors the mystic's inner illumination.Through a hermeneutic and semiotic approach, the paper explores the rhetorical, auditory, and performative devices that enable spiritual articulation: symbolism, metaphor, polysemy, silence, musicality, and repetition.These tools convert poetry into an existential path toward divine union and gnosis.The analysis also contextualizes Sufi language within auditory rituals such as sam, emphasizing the relationship between verbal expression and spiritual hearing.The article concludes that Sufi discourse constitutes an ontological event rather than a linguistic message; its meaning unfolds through dhawq (spiritual taste) and kashf (unveiling) rather than logical interpretation.Consequently, the mystical text functions as a participatory act inviting the reader to transcend cognition through presence, emotion, and symbol.