Philosophical Understanding of Music and Poetry in Sufism

The role of music and words in Sufi practice is very high. It is through the musical component and the sounding word that the main attributes of the mystical direction in Islam are given, becoming a powerful sacred instrument in comprehending the truth. Sufism is a philosophical, aesthetic, religious, ethical doctrine and lifestyle. In the past, it had embraced all spheres of social life, influenced, and often determined the creative thinking of poets, musicians, architects, artisans, and other creators. Nowadays Sufism is an active practice of religious life in an unorthodox Islam. It is becoming a source of inspiration for contemporary composers and poets. Many ideas of Sufism were in conflict and opposition with the official line of the orthodox faith. Among these ideas was music, for which the Sufis use the term «sama» (literally «listening»). In Sufism, music as one of the ways to comprehend God, had special power. This study presents the theoretical aspect of the music and poetry influence on the aesthetic side of Sufism. Based on the research of Islamic scholars, and most importantly on the literary, philosophical works of the Sufis, previously not used with scientific intentions; Let us present a picture of the vision and understanding of the musical and aesthetic side of unorthodox Islam. It is also important to rediscover the relationship between the emergence and introduction of the musical aesthetics of Sufism into the modern musical ritual practice of an unorthodox Islam