''Hüsn ü Aşk'' (literally: ''Beauty and Love'') is the
magnum opus
A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship.
Historically, ...
of
Turkish Mevlevî poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
Şeyh Gâlib. ''Hüsn ü Aşk'' consists of 2101
verses and is an allegory of major themes in
Sufi Islam
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
.
''Hüsn ü Aşk'' tells the tale of two lovers, ''Hüsn'' (lit. "Beauty") and ''Aşk'' ("Love"). According to the story, ''Hüsn'' and ''Aşk'' were born on the same night to the same
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
. Eventually they fall for each other but when ''Aşk'' intends to ask for her hand in marriage from elders of the clan, he is ridiculed by the elders and asked to bring ''kimyâ'' ("chemistry") from the land of ''Kalb'' ("Heart") if he intends to be with ''Hüsn''. As a result of this request, ''Aşk'' sets for a journey to the land of Kalb along with his servant ''Gayret'' ("perseverance"). ''Aşk'' and ''Gayret'' encounter many obstacles during their journey and face numerous dangers.
In the end, all the trials ''Aşk'' had to go through were due to his belief that ''Hüsn'' was a different person than himself when actually ''Aşk'' and ''Hüsn'' are one and the same.
All of the names used in the story, including the names of characters and places, are
Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
terms. The story is full of
symbolism
Symbolism or symbolist may refer to:
*Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea
Arts
*Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea
** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
and is meant to be taken, not for its literal meaning but rather, for its symbolic and esoteric meaning; one's journey towards
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
, where one sees at the end that he himself is actually a reflection of God, hence is one with God because there is no
being
Existence is the state of having being or reality in contrast to nonexistence and nonbeing. Existence is often contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity is its essential features or qualities, which can be understood even if one do ...
other than God.
Translation
* ''Beauty and Love'', trans. by Victoria Rowe Holbrook, Modern Language Association of America (2005)
References
Sufi literature
Turkish poetry
Ottoman literature
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