Come, Take a Bite of the Inner Morsels

Once again, the sound of Ramadan's footsteps arrives. For some, this sound evokes the imposition of a rigidly devout lifestyle upon the frail frame of personal life for those who wish to be themselves; when they are forced to carry out the most ordinary parts of their way of living, like eating a morsel of bread or drinking a sip of water, in secrecy and fear. For these people, the intrusive and wearisome appearance of the month of Ramadan, which comes early and leaves late, holds no pleasant memories. For others, however, this month recalls the sweetness of the divine presence, the memory of Shajarian's Rabbana, the gatherings for iftar, the solitude of dawn, the lamentations in the heart of the night, and the night vigils of Qadr. Yet for others, Ramadan is perhaps neither this nor that, and maybe even both this and that.

Anyway, regardless of your mindset and way of living, if you wish during the month of Ramadan to attune your reading habits to the atmosphere of this month (I mean, of course, the non-imposed atmosphere of this month!) and also give the style of music you listen to a somewhat Ramadan-like character, I have prepared a list of books/articles and also albums that, in my opinion, all possess an inward and, at the same time, critically reflective spirit. If the mood takes you, as Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani says, "remember us in your prayers."

Major themes of the Qur’ān Fazlur Rahman

(I wish this book would be translated into Persian).

God and Man in the Qur'an: Semantics of the Qur'anic Weltanschauung, Toshihiko Izutsu, translated by Ahmad Aram.

Fear and Trembling, Søren Kierkegaard, translated by Abdolkarim Rashidian, Tehran: Ney Publishing.

"A Philosopher's Way Back to Faith", William Alston, translated by Hooman Panahandeh, Kiyan, No. 52, pp. 36-53 (The role of music in Alston's transformation of faith is noteworthy).

Eclipse of God (Studies in the Relation between Religion and Philosophy), Martin Buber, translated by Abbas Kashef and Aboutorab Sohrab, Tehran: Farzan-e Rooz (Buber, like a master magician, makes God disappear; we all stare fixedly at the magician's black hat, waiting for a white rabbit to emerge from it. The magic trick ends, and it is as if the magician has forgotten his own spell. We are still staring at the hat. Inside the hat, however, there are only a few coins that some spectators have reluctantly tossed to the magician).

I and Thou, Martin Buber, (It is like a painting whose colors are words).

Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr, Miguel de Unamuno, translated by Baha'oddin Khorramshahi, Tehran: Radmand Publications (The warm disbelief that is the twin of renewing faith is artfully stitched into the warp and weft of this novel).

Siyah Mashq, Sayeh (Houshang Ebtehaj), Tehran: Karnameh (If the esoteric matter wishes not to reveal itself yet still be present, it becomes the poetry of Sayeh).

Fihi Ma Fihi, Rumi (various editions), (It brings dignity to the pulpit).

The Letters of Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, (among the Persian Qur'ans) Vols. 1 & 2: edited by Alinaqi Monzavi and Afif Osseiran, Tehran: Manouchehri, 1362. Volume Three edited by Alinaqi Monzavi, Tehran: Asatir, 1377.

Abhar al-Asheqin fi Ahwal al-Eshq, Ruzbihan Baqli Shirazi, edited by Henry Corbin and Mohammad Moin.

The Tragic Sense of Life, Miguel de Unamuno, translated by Baha'oddin Khorramshahi, Tehran: Nahid.

Belief or Unbelief, Correspondence between Umberto Eco and Cardinal Martini, translated by Ali Asghar Bahrami, Tehran: Ney Publishing (An example of enlightening and empathetic dialogue between faith and unbelief, may there be more of it).

Duzakhrafat, Soroush Pakzad (with an introduction by Ebrahim Nabavi), H&S Media Publishing: 1390, (For one who views the problem of God from the perspective of apophatic theology, the critical theological satires of Soroush Pakzad are not only not offensive, but are iconoclastic and icon-burning).

Manāzil al-Sāʾirīn, Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (the text itself is more eloquent than its lengthy commentaries).

The Traits of the Pious, Abdolkarim Soroush, Tehran: Serat Publishing.

The album “I Have No News of Nothing,” tar by Milad Derakhshani. It is a magnificent work that carries you away with yourself upon the clouds of imagination. The didgeridoo (a wind instrument of the Australian Aboriginals) also adds to the ethereal atmosphere of the piece.

The album “The Willow’s Lament,” tar and vocals by Mohammad-Reza Lotfi (it is something of the nature of hidden intimations; Lotfi’s dervish-like voice and his fiery plectrum strokes cast a spark into one’s soul).

The album “Seyr” (Journey), setar by Masoud Shaari, (the opening piece of the first track, which is the clamor of a bazaar and someone, perhaps a sock-seller, says in a sweet accent: “Black?” and then Shaari’s instrument gently begins over it, each time you listen it is as if unrepeatable. How an ordinary, even banal thing like the noise of a bustling bazaar on an ordinary day gradually unravels you, sublimates you, and in that journey you are as if in the gold-beaters’ bazaar and the gold-beaters’ song has enraptured you, as if you see with your own eyes that the world is not left to its own devices, that... for a few moments, however, this state does not last long, but its warm ash may remain with you for a long time).

Come, Take a Bite of the Inner Morsels

Author: Yaser Mirdamadi

Source: Yaser Mirdamadi's Facebook