Dancing before God's Beauty

This book presents fresh insights into the life, teachings, and enduring legacy of the Persian mystic poet Jal?l al-D?n R?m?. Across fourteen chapters, scholars introduce innovative perspectives on under-explored and emerging themes, from the hagiography written by R?m?'s son, Sul??n Valad, and his journey towards accepting spiritual leadership, to R?m?'s passionate relationship with his beloved friend, Shams-i Tabr?z?. The volume also provides new approaches to reading R?m?'s monumental didactic narrative, the Mathnav?. Topics range from sh?hid-b?z? - worshipping a beautiful face to commune with the divine - to supplication (mun?j?t), immolation, sensory perception, and the transformative role of music in reaching ecstatic states. Chapters deal with R?m?'s reception history, examining the works of figures such as Anqarav? (d. 1041/1631) and Abdülbâki Gölp?narl? (1900-1982), as well as the Dutch-Iranian novelist Kader Abdolah. The book further explores R?m?'s visual reception history and his impact on contemporary artists. Finally, it examines R?m?'s popularity in the United States, analysing how his poetry continues to offer people from diverse backgrounds a Lacanian "imaginary": an internalized representation of the spiritual.