Sufi Symbolic Forms in the Poem from the age of the Golden Horde “Qalandar-name”

Abstract

Research objectives: This article analyzes Sufi symbols in “Qalandar-name” by Abu Bakr Qalandar Rumi. The research is focused on the historical era of its creation. This era coincided with the heyday of global Sufism, when the largest tariqats were already formed and classical treatises by al-Ghazali, Ibn-‘Arabi, Suhravardi, and others were written. Research materials: The study is based on the composition “Qalandar-name” and works by various authors dedicated to the personality of Abu Bakr Qalandar Rumi and his work. Results and novelty of the research: The article presents a hermeneutical analysis of the symbolic forms of the Sufi tradition in “Qalandar-name”. Based on a comparison with other medieval writings of Sufi authors, three groups of the most important symbols for Islamic esotericism are identified: general Islamic Qur’anic images, Sufi ritual, and Sufi mystical ones. The analysis of the text reveals a large number of the most important symbolic forms of Islamic mysticism, known from other Sufi works. The images are compared with similar ones in well-known Sufi works, and their meaning is described according to the traditions of Sufism. The poem “Qalandar-name” by Abu Bakr Qalandar Rumi expands the source base for research on the culture of the Golden Horde, and future works can continue the analysis of the most important Sufi symbols of the poem in the context of the interconnections of Islamic culture in different countries in the Middle Ages.