Pursuing Islamic spiritualism: a journey from Rumi to Nazrul

Abstract

Islamic spiritualism has travelled many lands and through a long time. It has been told through many poetries and music. Firstly, It was popularized by Rumi and manifested in Bengali poetry by Nazrul. However, the name Kazi Nazrul Islam is synonymous with rebel poetry in Bengali. Nazrul’s spiritual poems neither completely fit into the romantic genre nor do they truly follow the spiritual teachings of love. The journey of spiritual poetry from Arab to Persia and then to Bengal has shown the implementation of these ideas in their own context, time, and situation. Inside the South Asian region, a massive reformation of self, ideology and spirituality can be seen. Within this complex frame, Islamic ideologies have shown a newer understanding of a community very different from its origins. So, the translation of these ideas was different in Nazrul’s spiritual romanticism. This paper is a study of the long path through which Islamic spiritualism has travelled. By understanding each step of this gradual representation, an analytical conclusion can be drawn about Nazrul’s romantic writings.