#furusiyyah

[didanawisgi]

Image: Furusiyya (Horsemanship) by George Lewis, gouache and oil on paper.

“Why think thus O men of piety I have returned to sobriety I am neither a Moslem nor a Hindu I am not Christian, Zoroastrian, nor Jew

I am neither of the West nor the East Not of the ocean, nor an earthly beast I am neither a natural wonder Nor from the stars yonder

Neither flesh of dust, nor wind inspire Nor water in veins, nor made of fire I am neither an earthly carpet, nor gems terrestrial Nor am I confined to Creation, nor the Throne Celestial

Not of ancient promises, nor of future prophecy Not of hellish anguish, nor of paradisic ecstasy Neither the progeny of Adam, nor Eve Nor of the world of heavenly make-believe

My place is the no-place My image is without face Neither of body nor the soul I am of the Divine Whole.

I eliminated duality with joyous laughter Saw the unity of here and the hereafter Unity is what I sing, unity is what I speak Unity is what I know, unity is what I seek

Intoxicated from the chalice of Love I have lost both worlds below and above Sole destiny that comes to me Licentious mendicity

In my whole life, even if once Forgot His name even per chance For that hour spent, for such moment I’d give my life, and thus repent

Beloved Master, Shams-e Tabrizi In this world with Love I’m so drunk The path of Love isn’t easy I am shipwrecked and must be sunk.”

- Rumi 

“There is no religion without Virtue”

- Old Bedouin Proverb  

[didanawisgi]

In Old Arabic, the alternative word for “Chivalry” (Furúsiyyah as horsemanship) (فروسه) was the word for “Virtue” and “Honour” (Múruwwa as chivalric values) (مروه), used as an interchangeable synonym. (In modern Arabic Múruwwa is only used as a womens’ forename, without awareness of the Old Arabic meaning, although Furúsiyyah is still widely recognized.) In classical Arabian Chivalry, the principle of chivalric Virtue was even more important than religious doctrines, according to the traditional Bedouin saying “There is no religion without Virtue” [4] (Lá Din B’ílla Muruwwáti) (لا دين بلا مروئتي).

Reynold Alleyne Nicholson, A Literary History of the Arabs, C. Scribner’s Sons, New York (1907), Reprinted by Cosimo Classics (2010), p.178, 287.

[didanawisgi]

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