Divine Love & Art

Music, dance, love: Zhikr and Sema... 

I cast this body of mine whirling like a moth around the candle of your soul. 

The archives of this heart I cast into the rosy flames of fire. 

When I was a drop, I threw myself into the ocean. 

I can't describe this pain of mine, such a sorrow I have. 

If you love the Master, don't make me speak of it, this grief I have. 

Listen to my words, from a different place I will speak. 

What the dervish needs is love for God the Guide. 

Whatever the lover has is sacrificed for the Beloved's sake. 

Sema is a joy, a remedy for the soul, food for the spirit. 

O Sufi! 

Our conversation fills the soul with joy. 

Drink once of the dregs of our wine and see, 

For difficulty it is a remedy; to our pre-eternal bond with God it is fidelity. 

Sema is a joy, a remedy for the soul, food for the spirit. 

Enter in love; joyfully let us live. 

While reaching the highest heaven, let's see how brave you are. 

O the Presence, the Living One! Let's get drunk and play the harp and ney. 

Sema is a pleasure, a remedy for the soul, food for the spirit. 

Enter in love. 

Let's be seekers who are remembered. 

Let's live joyfully, vibrating life! 

Come to Blessed Mevlana, let's be his servant. 

Sema is a joy, a remedy for the soul, food for the spirit. 

~ Sultan Veled

...

"InnAllahi Cemîlun ve yuhibbul Cemâl" 

Our Lord, Allah is the master of beauty, is just beautiful and loves beauty.

...

From the book the Fifth Mountain, here comes a quotation:
"My Lord, Allah is owner of the everything that we can see or not. His power's penetrated all of creation; till their atomies. He's chosen the beauty and goodness even so He could have chosen whatever He wants.
If we can live our story up to the end, we'll see the goodness even in the evil forms and we'll see that stays in itself, its beauty. We see this as the part of creation of Allah for human beings."
...
From this point of view, Islamic Sufism Tradition explains life, creation and the target of life with beauty and love of divine. The discipline of its methodologies for letting people to see beauty, to live beauty of life whatever happen to them, has no importance of place of them; all of disciplines of it purpose giving this point of view and behavior to the believers.
...
Music is a part of beauty of God. There's no non-musical culture in the world even though it has no connection with the other cultures. So it is said that music is derived, comes with our spirit from the Heaven, where the place all of our spirits have taken place at the beginning.
...When God's created all of the spirits and asked them " Am I not your Lord, the Teacher? " All of spirits have heard it, loved it and witnessed saying " Surely yes, You're our Lord, the Teacher" After hearing the harmony and beauty of Allah's voice, everything loved Him and when they come to the earth all of them have looked for this voice. Thus the people need to try finding this melody, harmony via making music, listening them.
...
We've talked about origin of music; lets talk about what it is used for ?
Music is used for different aspects. In ancient Turkish tradition beginning of far east; it's used for ceremonies, amusement, relaxing also treatment of such diseases: especially spiritual, psychological and related with mind.
When one begins listen to a musical component, his&her body tends to move in a rhythmic way. Lots of research have shown that whirling is a common movement when one has happiness and excitement. Also whirling is a common movement in the universe from minor forms till to the major ones.
...
In Islamic Sufism Tradition, Zhikr is a ceremony of remembering Allah, being full of thought with Him. There are lots of styles of Zhikir in different cultures, also regions in a same culture. It is affected from culture, behavior, climate, style of life.

Well known form is Sema, was performed in ancient shamanistic times also. There is serious information that whirling stimulates, accelerates and deepens trance.

Sema which developed in Islamic Sufism has a philosophical depth and an explanation within this path. This is not just whirling; it is an inclination towards the heart. As we all know the Transcendent Excellence of Allah has proclaimed that “ The universes cannot contain my greatness but I can reside in the heart of a believer.

Because that heart can act as a mirror reflecting the emanation of Allah; the whirling in turn is towards the heart. His Holiness Mevlânâ says that the sema finds a way beyond the six paths. In the Holy Qoran in the Surah of Bakara there is the verse which says “Wherever you turn; there you will find the face of Allah”. Drawing from this point of view we can say that the external directions unite into one direction and unify with the internal essence.

Sema appears as a very ancient and a deeply rooted concept in Islamic culture. The narratives (hadith) about the sema begin as far back as the time of the Prophet (mPbuH). A poet called Lebid recites a poem and His Holiness the Prophet (mPbuH) is deeply affected and reaches extacy and makes some movements. There is a narrative (hadith) that says that while whirling at that moment his cardigan fell to the floor and was divided into pieces and distributed among ‘Companions’ (Ashab) that were present.[1]

There are reports that His Holiness Ebû Bekir, His Holiness Ali[2], His Holiness Cafer and His Holiness Zeyd also performed the sema.[3]. According to the sources sema is also present in Heaven [4] and that Hızır (PbuH) – The Green Prophet[5] also performed the sema.

Sema became a very common ritual among the Sufis of the subsequent eras. Many Mystics performed the sema and sema was tolerated and adopted by many orders.

And as coming last words, we say that Sema is a pleasure, a remedy for the soul, food for the spirit...

Here are some resources related with our subjects, hope to enjoy them :)

With Love, 

Zehra

Mevlevi Sema Zhikr, 
Seb-i Arus Ceremony of Mevlânâ in Konya, Turkey:

An Interview about Music theraphy:

A piece of mystic music and Sema:

A Definition of Zhikir:

Chechen Zhikr majlis:

A Rufai Zhikir majlis in Turkey:

A Halvet-i Ussaki Zhikir in Turkey:

References

1. Şeyh Rüsûhüddin İsmail Bin Ahmed El-Ankaravî, Mevleviler Yolu. p.  383. Abbreviated and prepared by: Mehmet Kanar. Şûle Pub., İstanbul, January 2012.

2. ibid p. 386-387.

3. İhyayı Ulumuddin v. 2 p. 748

4. Bayram Akdoğan, İsmail Ankaravi’nin Hüccetüs Sema Adlı Eserine Göre Musiki Anlayışı, Ankara 1991, p.89

5. Molla Cami, Nefahat’ül Üns, çev. Abdulkladir Akçiçek, Huzur Publishing, Istanbul 2014, p. 57.
6. https://tumata.com/en/
7. http://semazen.net/eng/index.php