Quarreling with God

Book excerpt: For the first time in English, this collection presents a compilation of seven centuries of the mystic hymns of Turkey's rebellious Sufi poets, the popular folk counterparts to Rumi whose poems are characterised by a passionate and unorthodox commitment to Truth. At the time Rumi was writing in ancient Anatolia, many other great mystics in the region were also composing wild, ecstatic and controversial poems which were circulated among the people as spiritual songs (called 'nefes' and 'illahis') still played and sung today in sacred dervish ceremonies and gatherings. These poems were meant to swiftly and easily penetrate the heart of the spiritual aspirant whether educated or uneducated, and awaken the human heart to its divine inheritance. These poems present a spiritual tradition from the Islamic world which bravely challenged orthodox religion and emphasised universal mystic love and tolerance.