Islamic Spirituality from Imam Ali and Jalal Al-Din Rumi

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Recommended: Importance of religion and belief system

What we learn about Islamic spirituality from the sayings of Imam ‘Ali and the poetry and prose of Jalal al-Din Rumi
The majority of the Americans today tend to relate religion with spirituality. This is common especially for people who think of the guilt-inducing proscriptions on a certain set of behaviors, seemingly authoritative or arbitrary rules, unreasoning insistence and doctrinal orthodoxy, aggressive proselytizing, as well as divisive sectarianism. The majority of the Americans prefer describing themselves as interested in leading “sacred” or “spiritual” lives through the help of religion.
There are several significant things we can learn from the sayings of Imam Ali and the different pieces of poetry and prose from Jalal al-Din Rumi. They insist that Muslims dislike the word religion and instead insists that Islam is a religion that can be equated with a personal relationship with God. Muslims have a significant value for Allah. According to Imam, submission to the will of Allah defines spirituality and becomes the best companion in developing a solid relationship with the creator. Imam also assets that submission to Allah requires spiritual wisdom, which is a virtue of establishing a perfect relationship with the creator (Imam 1-3-2). We thereby come to learn that such wisdom is the noblest heritage, whereas practical and theoretical knowledge are some of the best signs of distinction from various degrees of relating with the creator. We also come to learn that spirituality is separated from the worldly favors. Rumi asserts that when the worldly fate favors an individual, it lends him the various attributes and surpasses merits of others (Rumi 1-3). Similarly, when the world faces away from an individual, it snatches...

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...slims should adopt from the teachings of Rumi and Imam include fairness of judgment, profoundness of knowledge, depth of understanding, and the dearness of the mind. The teachings discussed above are useful for any individual as they act as a comprehensive guide to live a spiritual life regardless of the type of religion. Non-Muslims are also faced with challenges and temptations in their daily lives. The teachings are quite useful in guiding believers on how to cope with the temptations without landing into wickedness.

Works Cited
Hadrat'Ali, , and Thomas Cleary. Living & Dying with Grace. Boston: Shambhala, 1996. Print.
Imam Ali., Nahjul Balagha "Quotes". Retrieved on 1st April 2014 from http://www.balaghah.net/nahj-htm/eng/id/article/61/01.htm.
Rumi Jelaluddin, Rumi Poetry. Retrieved on 1st April 2014 from http://peacefulrivers.homestead.com/rumipoetry1.html.

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