''Hüsn ü Aşk'' (literally: ''Beauty and Love'') is the
magnum opus 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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
. ''Hüsn ü Aşk'' consists of 2101
verses and is an allegory of major themes in
Sufi Islam
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, 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, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
. 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 ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
terms. The story is full of
symbolism 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 thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, 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
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities e ...
other than God.
Translation
* ''Beauty and Love'', trans. by Victoria Rowe Holbrook, Modern Language Association of America (2005)
References
Sufi literature
Turkish poetry
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