V A R I O R U M

The Hermeneutics of Eroticism

in the Poetry of Rumi

Mahdi Tourage

M
ichel Foucault writes that in societies that made use of ars erotica, secrecy served the
purpose of amplifying the truth that is drawn from pleasure and the importance
of a master in transmitting it in an esoteric manner.1 He writes that the need for
secrecy in sexuality was “not because of an element of infamy . . . but because of the need to
hold it in the greatest reserve, since, according to tradition, it would lose its effectiveness and
its virtue by being divulged.”2 It is no surprise, then, that secretive traditions often find in
eroticism an apt metaphor for the expression of their esoteric concepts.3 In the same vein as
ars erotica, secrecy enhances the mystical enterprise and elevates it to the level of esotericism.
It is imperative that something of the secret be revealed, because secrecy is not the same
as concealment.4 A secret that is fully concealed might as well not exist. However, a total
revelation would make the secret meaningless, just as in eroticism consummation equates with
termination, for eroticism is the deferral of consummation. Thus the constitutive element of
secrecy and eroticism is the communicative interplay of disclosure and concealment.
In many passages of the Masnavi, the great epic of the thirteenth century Persian mystic
Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), mystical knowledge is communicated in erotic terms.5 This article
examines the dynamics of eroticism in the Masnavi in order to explore the range of Rumi’s
esoteric intentions and symbolizing practices. When structured along the lines of erotic rela-
of tionality, Rumi’s symbolizing practices are related to the embodied and gendered subjectiv-
d ies
e Stu ities that are inevitably signified in a particular cultural context. I examine the implications
ra tiv d
pa an of Rumi’s sociocultural context for the sexed and gendered bodies that are utilized for his
m i ca
Co , Af r
A sia
uth st
So Ea
I am grateful to Maria E. Subtelny for her support and thoughtful 3. A useful definition of the erotic is offered by Jeffrey Kripal as

id dle comments throughout the various stages of writing this article. “that specifically dialectical manifestation of the mystical and
M ss
P re
It was her pioneering comparative studies of medieval Jewish the sexual that appears in any number of traditions through a
the ty
rsi and Perso-Islamic sources that opened the way for the ideas in range of textual and metaphorical strategies which collapse, of-
i ve this essay. See her Le monde est un jardin: Aspects de l’histoire ten together, the supposed separation of the spiritual and the
e Un
D uk 00
5 culturelle de l’Iran médiéval (The World is a Garden: Aspects of sexual.” See his Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom: Eroticism
2
. 3,
A the Cultural History of Medieval Iran), Cahiers de Studia Iranica and Reflexivity in the Study of Mysticism (Chicago: University
No No. 28 (Paris: Association pour l’Avancement des Études Irani- of Chicago Press, 2001), 21.
l. 25 , ennes, 2002); also see her “The Masnavi and the Zohar: Two
Vo 4. Hans G. Kippenberg and Guy G. Stroumsa, “Introduction: Se-
Contemporary Masterworks of Mystical Literature, Islamic and
crecy and its Benefits,” in Secrecy and Concealment: Studies in
Jewish,” forthcoming in Kabbalah: Journal for the Study of Jew-
the History of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Religions, ed.
ish Mystical Texts.
Kippenberg and Stroumsa (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995), xiii.
1. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction,
5. Jalal al-Din Rumi, The Mathnawi of Jalalu’ddin Rumi, 8 vols.,
trans. Robert Hurley (New York: Vintage Books, 1978), 57.
ed. and trans. with critical notes and commentary by Reynold A.
2. Foucault, History of Sexuality, 57. Nicholson (London: Luzac, 1925–40). All references to the Mas-
navi are indicated in the text by book number in arabic numer-
600 als, followed by the line number.
signifying purposes. In many passages of the A supra-sensory intelligible marriage takes place 601
Masnavi the production (communication) of between the Pen and the Tablet,
mystical knowledge is contemplated as an em- and a visible, sensory trace. . . . The Trace that
bodied process through which certain bod- was deposited in the Tablet was like
the sperm that is ejaculated and set within the
ies, or more precisely the function of a cer-
womb of the female. The meanings
tain organ of the male body (the penis), are
deposited within the celestial letters that be-
foregrounded or privileged while others are came manifest from that writing are like
marginalized. The understanding of this pro- the spirits of the children deposited within their

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
cess rests on interpreting the significance as- bodies.9
signed to the embodied and gendered subjec-
tivities by their cultural context in which they In a similar passage in the Masnavi, Rumi brings
are situated. For the purpose of such an analysis, into focus the feminine as a hermeneutical
relevant features of modern theories of gender, category. Here the female biological function
semiotics, and psychoanalysis are used as strate- of birthing is appropriated for explicating the
gic conceptual tools. This article thus supports (male) mystic’s divinely inspired creativity:
the relevance of certain trends in psychoanalyt- The Universal Intellect touched upon the par-
ical inquiry into subjectivity for new interpreta- tial intellect (the intellect of the subject)
tions of mystical texts.6 the soul received from it a pearl and put it into
its bosom [jaib]
The Erotic Significance of the Masnavi’s Imagery Like Mary through that touch that the bosom
received,
There are many passages in the Masnavi that
the soul became pregnant with a heart-captivat-
may be considered in their erotic significance.
ing Messiah (2:1183–84).
In the Masnavi the symbolic encounters with
the Divine, the scripture, or a mystical text are The term jaib, translated as “bosom,” which also
expressed in embodied and gendered terms means “hole” or “cavity,” denotes the “womb.”
that are projected unto sexualized or eroticized This is in consonance with its use elsewhere in
bodies. In one passage Rumi speaks of the mys- the Masnavi where Mary is described as pak jaib,
tic’s state of readiness to encounter the Divine that is, “pure-bosom” or “pure-womb” (3:3708).
as a state of “nonexistence,” in which individual This passage is an instance of the use of erotic
attributes must be annulled (5:1960). He writes imagery to explain a symbolic encounter with a
that for the Divine Pen to “ennoble” the indi- dimension that transcends the subjective level.
vidual soul, one must become like a paper that The Universal Soul impregnates the individ-
is not written on.7 He also uses imagery such as ual soul by a contact that is explained here by
“planting a sapling” and “sowing a seed” to con- means of the analogy with a sexual contact re-
vey his message (5:1960–64). In this passage, sulting in pregnancy. The word pearl may be
the gender symbolism of the (Divine) Pen and considered as an analogy with semen symboli-
the blank sheet of paper is self-evident.8 cally deposited into the individual soul; put dif-
The gender significance of the Divine Pen ferently, the womb (of the individual soul) re-
was not lost on the Muslim mystics. For exam- ceives the pearl of (the Universal Soul’s) semen
ple, Ibn ‘Arabi uses sexual imagery in discussing in this symbolic encounter. The pearl, symboliz-
the relationship between Pen and Tablet in ing the Divine semen, is the seed that grows to
terms of the marriage that pervades all atoms: be the Messiah of the soul, or to use the words of

6. Among these inquiries that illustrate the applica- benefited immensely from James J. DiCenso’s care- 8. Sachiko Murata writes that in Sufi discourse the
bility of psychodynamic concepts to Jewish mysticism ful observations as well as his book The Other Freud: Pen and the Tablet are two spiritual beings with obvi-
are Ultimate Intimacy: The Psychodynamics of Jew- Religion, Culture, and Psychoanalysis (London: Rout- ous gender significance, the Pen corresponding to the
ish Mysticism, ed. Mortimer Ostow (London: Karnac ledge, 1999). masculine and the Tablet to feminine receptivity. See
Books, 1995); and Elliot R. Wolfson, “Occultation of her The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Rela-
7. Rumi incorporates the opening verse of chapter 68
the Feminine and the Body of Secrecy in Medieval tions in Islamic Thought (Albany: State University of
of the Koran: “N. And by the Pen.” For Rumi this term
Kabbalah,” in Rending the Veil: Concealment and Se- New York Press, 1992), 154.
seems to indicate the instrument and the source of
crecy in the History of Religions, ed. Elliot R. Wolf-
Divine knowledge bestowed on the one who would 9. Ibid., 153.
son (New York: Seven Bridges, 1999), 113–54. I have
naught himself before God.
602 Rumi’s commentator Isma’il of Ankara, “a spiri- onto the sexualized bodies of the Turk and the
tual Child . . . having the breath of Christ which Hindu. In Persian mystical poetry, the Turk’s
resuscitates the dead.”10 This spiritual child, or body is often eroticized as white and beautiful
the “Jesus of the soul,” comes as a concrete as a moon, with round face, narrow eyes, and
proof of the encounter with the Universal intel- small mouth, while the dark-skinned body of
lect. the Hindu is devalued.13
In another passage in the Masnavi Rumi Although the analogy is not well devel-
uses the female biological function of menstru- oped, there are instances in Sufism where the
i ve
a rat ation to illustrate another possible aspect of the mystic is portrayed as the bride of God.14 As a
mp
Co relationship with the Divine. He writes, “Indeed mode of the collapse of the erotic and the mys-
of
d ies (following) the carnal desire is the menstrua- tical, Rumi uses the image of the bride in dif-
Stu
ia, tion of men” (6:2935). Here Rumi is describ- ferent contexts. A few examples illustrate this
As
uth ing carnal desire in terms of the biological func- point. In a passage in the Masnavi, the theme of
So he
n dt tion of menstruation.11 In the context of Islamic a sexual encounter with a beautiful bride in the
ic aa
Af r st laws of purity, menstruation is considered to bridal chamber is played out with reference to
Ea
le be a state of ritual impurity during which cer- the mystical stations on the spiritual path and
M idd
tain ritual obligations, like daily ritual prayer the mystical state. Rumi writes, “The mystical
and obligatory fasting, are suspended for fe- state is like a self-presentation of that beauti-
male believers, and sexual (vaginal) intercourse ful bride / and the mystical stations are like
is forbidden.12 Rumi equates the state of a man being alone with the bride” (1:1435). His con-
who follows his carnal soul with menstruation; clusion is that many Sufis may enjoy a passing
pollution by worldly desires signified by men- mystical state, but rarely do they attain a station:
struation is the cause of the Divine’s aversion to “The bride may be displayed before commoners
a soul. and nobles alike / In the bridal chamber (how-
In some passages in the Masnavi Rumi ever,) the king is alone with the bride” (1:1437).
hurls certain racial prejudices into his analogy Thus, it is only a certain experiential approach
of the human encounter with the Divine. One that opens up the inner meaning of Scripture.
particular passage plays on the contrasting im- The opposite of the mystical approach to the
age of the Turk and the Hindu as the ideal Scripture is a superficial encounter with the
active-receptive opposites to exemplify this en- text. Rumi explains this superficial encounter
counter. He writes, “Be the Hindu of that Turk in the tale of a ninety-year-old woman, an “an-
[i.e., the Divine Beloved], oh [man made of] cient whore,” who cuts pieces of the Scripture
water and clay” (3:2839). He portrays the Di- and uses her saliva to paste them onto her face
vine as a forceful and virile Turk and the mys- to beautify herself (6:1268–92).
tic as a submissive Hindu slave. This analogy In a passage in Fihi ma Fihi, Rumi likens
is related to the purported ethnic qualities of the Koran to a bride and describes the herme-
the two, which are cruelty, aggression, and dom- neutical approach of the mystic to it in sexually
ination on one side and receptivity and slav- charged terms: “The Koran is like a bride. . . .
ery on the other. These qualities are projected Seek its pleasure, . . . do it service from afar, and

10. Cited in Henry Corbin, Creative Imagination in the body, was believed to have monthly menses; see 13. For the theme of Turk and Hindu in Persian mysti-
Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi, trans. Ralph Manheim (Prince- Steven F. Kruger, “Conversion and Medieval Sexual, cal poetry, see Annemarie Schimmel, A Two-Colored
ton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 172. Religious, and Racial Categories,” in Lochrie et al., Brocade: The Imagery of Persian Poetry (Chapel Hill:
Constructing Medieval Sexuality, 158–79. University of North Carolina Press, 1992), 137–44; also
11. This is consistent with the medieval view of men-
see her “Eros—Heavenly and Not So Heavenly—in
struation as a human deficiency sometimes projected 12. Heterosexual anal intercourse as a recourse dur-
Sufi Literature and Life,” in Society and the Sexes in
unto male bodies, as in the case of medieval Christian ing a woman’s menses was condemned by the major
Medieval Islam, ed. Afaf Lutfi as-Sayyid Marsot (Levi
clergy; see Dylan Elliott, “Pollution, Illusion, and Mas- schools of Islamic law, with the exception of the Ma-
della Vida Sixth Conference) (Malibu, CA: Undena,
culine Disarray: Nocturnal Emissions and the Sexual- liki school; see Everett K. Rowson, “The Categorization
1979), 119–42.
ity of the Clergy,” in Constructing Medieval Sexuality, of Gender and Sexual Irregularity in Medieval Ara-
ed. K. Lochrie, P. McCracken, and J. A. Schultz (Min- bic Vice Lists,” in Body Guards: The Cultural Politics 14. For example, Nicholson notes the mystic Simnani’s
neapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997), 1–23. of Gender Ambiguity, ed. Julia Epstein and Kristina repeating Bayazid’s saying that “the saints are God’s
The Jewish male, as an example of a marginalized Straub (New York: Routledge, 1991), 50–79, 75 n. 14. brides whom only close relatives can behold.” See his
Mathnawi, 7:43.
strive to do what pleases it . . . and it will show Even without the Koranic precedent, a 603
you its face. You will be seeking the people of contiguity of connotations associated with “en-
God. Enter among my servants, and enter my garden trance” into the garden of paradise and “en-
of paradise.”15 The last segment of this passage trance into a bride” as in sexual intercourse
is a direct quotation of a verse from the Koran can be established. This contiguity allows for
(89:27–30), which likens the moment of unveil- the metonymic displacement of the apparently
ing to the entrance into the inner sanctuary of nonsexual connotation of this term with a
a garden, presumably as in a sexual encounter. sexual one. This metonymic displacement is

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
The garden as a metaphor for the human body caused by a rearrangement of signifiers pertain-
or the body of the text is a familiar theme of me- ing to the metaphor of approaching a bride.
dieval Persian poetry.16 The garden’s “height- The Koranic precedent of the use of the term
ened sense of natural reality,” as Maria Subtelny “to enter” to mean sexual intercourse is useful
puts it, projected onto the metaphorical plane, in linking (hence authenticating) the alterna-
made it an apt metaphor for the esoteric dimen- tive meaning of this term to the symbolic ma-
sion of Muslim spirituality.17 trix of the Koran. In this respect, we can speak
The importance of this passage lies in ex- of a genealogy of signification, that is, linking
pressing the hermeneutical approach to Scrip- the different interpretations to a substantiating
ture by identifying a latent erotic metaphor in ideational matrix through the participating sig-
an apparently nonerotic verse from the Koran. nifiers. The genealogy of signification authenti-
A key term of this verse has been used in other cates the interpretation of a term like “to enter”
passages of the Koran in reference to a sexual in a sexual context. In genealogical terms the
encounter. In two instances in the Koran the latent meanings may be viewed as the recessive
term “to enter” (d-kh-l) is used as a reference to meanings that insist in a signifier and that can
literally “going into” a woman, as in penetration be uncovered when the dominant meanings are
in sexual intercourse that constitutes the con- metonymically displaced.19
summation of marriage.18 The use of the term Rumi also explains the encounter with the
“to enter” with the meaning of “sexual inter- mystical text in erotic terms. He uses the sex-
course” elsewhere in the Koran shows that the ual metaphor of union with a beautiful bride
suggested interpretation of this term as sexual to point out the defect of those who learn the
intercourse is consistent with its use in the Ko- words of the mystics for worldly purposes. In Fihi
ran. Therefore, based on the variance of the ma Fihi he relates:
meaning of this term in the Koran, it is possi-
These words are like a beautiful bride. What love
ble to interpret it as sexual intercourse. There or affection will a beautiful slave
is no clear indication that, by incorporating this girl have for someone who buys her in order to
verse from the Koran, Rumi does (or does not) sell her again? Since the only
refer the reader to other Koranic usages of the pleasure such a trader has is in selling the girl,
term “to enter.” However, the use of this term he is impotent. When he buys a girl
in the Koran to refer to sexual intercourse vali- only to sell her, he does not have the “manliness”
dates a sexually charged reading of this term as to be buying her for himself. . . .
And when he sells it, he buys powder and rouge.
the symbolic analogy of the moment of mystical
What else can he do?20
unveiling.

15. Jalal al-Din Rumi, Kitab-i Fihi ma Fihi, ed. Badi’ al- 16. See Julie Scott Meisami, “The Body as Garden: 19. The notion of the genealogy of signification corre-
Zaman Furuzanfar (Tehran: Amir Kabir, AH 1330/1951), Nature and Sexuality in Persian Poetry,” Edebiyat 6 sponds to Lacan’s argument that meaning is not fixed
229. For a translation of this book, see Signs of the Un- (1995): 245–74. in language, but insists in signifying chains, and the
seen: The Discourses of Jalaluddin Rumi, trans. W. M. stable meaning of language is due to the reference
17. Subtelny, Le monde est un jardin, 150.
Thackston Jr. (Boston: Shambhala, 1994). For a discus- of the displaced signifiers back to earlier ones. See
sion of the significance of the often-overlooked Fihi 18. “Prohibited to you [for marriage] are: . . . your step- his Écrits: A Selection, trans. Alan Sheridan (New York:
ma Fihi (literally In It Is What Is in It), see Fatemeh Ke- daughters under your guardianship, born of your Norton, 1977), 152–54.
shavarz, “Pregnant with God: The Poetic Art of Moth- wives who you have gone into; there is no prohibition
20. Rumi, Fihi ma Fihi, 111—“manliness” in this pas-
ering the Sacred in Rumi’s Fihi ma Fihi,” Comparative for you if you have not gone into [them]” (Koran 4:23).
sage is a translation of rujuliyyat va mardi; however,
Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 22
both terms denote “penis” as well.
(2002): 90–99.
604 The pseudomystic’s lust after the material she) “hides his penis [zakar ] from women and
world, gained through learning mystical words, his vagina [shullah, also meaning a “menstrual
is like trading a beautiful slave girl for money. cloth”] from men” (6:1426–27). In Rumi’s us-
This is analogized as the impotence of an effem- age, the term mukhannas also means an effemi-
inate man, implying he lacks a penis that is capa- nate man. In the Masnavi certain characteristics
ble of erection; hence the impotent man cannot are attributed to the hermaphrodite. For exam-
penetrate the inner layer of the text. This sexual ple, a hermaphrodite cannot be a soldier and
desire is a metaphor for the desire to penetrate cannot engage in physical combat (2:2760).
i ve
a rat into the inner meaning of the text, as opposed Even if he has a beard and a moustache and
mp
Co to trading it for worldly gain. Thus it is the pen- runs ahead of the army (leads), he does not
of
d ies etrating function of the erect penis that is the have the heart to fight because his heart is filled
Stu
ia, intended meaning. The potency of a man is an with unmanliness: “O you effeminate man who
As
uth allusion to his sexual desire that is symbolized has run ahead of the army / your penis testi-
So he
n dt by the function of the penis. fies to the lie of your beard” (5:2510–11). The
ic aa
Af r st In the Masnavi Rumi repeats the image of proof of unmanliness is found in the genitals
Ea
le an impotent man who buys a virgin slave girl but of the effeminate man, that is, in his penis that
M idd
does not have the “proper capacity” to benefit cannot become erect. Another example: “Were
from her (6:4425–26). In yet another reference there not a challenge of every wicked man /
to impotence, Rumi notes that for the impo- every effeminate would be a Rustam in battle”
tent man, clothing and nudity make no differ- (3:686).23 More important, a hermaphrodite
ence (5:3633). In these examples, impotence is exemplifies the man who is unable to travel the
related to the nonfunctional penis that cannot arduous path of knowledge: “The path of reli-
become erect. The desire and capacity for pen- gion is full of trouble and struggle because / this
etrating the inner layers of knowledge is analo- is not a path for anyone who is a hermaphrodite
gized as male sexual potency, which is linked to by nature” (6:508).
the function of the erect penis. This is not to say
that the penis somehow weighs in on the con- The Hermaphrodite and the Androgyne
struction of (true) manliness; the penis is like It is instructive to examine the implications of
a fetish, an illusory substitute that lacks intrin- the figure of the hermaphrodite for a sexual
sic significance.21 If the penis had any bearing economy that is centered on the function of the
on the construction of (true) masculinity, every male genitals. One may imagine that a gender
man would have been capable of gaining knowl- category like hermaphrodite that contains both
edge of the inner meaning of mystical or sacred gender characteristics should fit well within this
texts. As Rumi often asserts, true manliness is binary passive-active arrangement. However, a
not signified by the primary signifiers of mascu- hermaphrodite is excluded from this symbolic
line gender, like penis or testicles, nor by the arrangement, because, according to Rumi, a
secondary signifiers, like beard or moustache: hermaphrodite is an effeminate male who has
“[True] manliness is . . . not beard and penis / neither a penis nor a womb that is functional,
otherwise the donkey’s penis would have been but instead has two dysfunctional sexual organs.
the king of men” (5:3711). It is the characteristics of his genitals,
An ignorant man is like a hermaphrodite not mere effeminacy, that render the hermaph-
(mukhannas), who, as Rumi explains, has both rodite an anomaly. In the context of medieval
male and female genitals (6:1425).22 He (or Persian poetry, the Beloved is described in

21. DiCenso defines fetishism as “imaginary fixation 22. This is consistent with the view of the Muslim ju- Love in Islam: An Encyclopedia), trans. (from French)
on literalized ideal entities and related symbols and rists who developed specific criteria for determining Ursula Günther, Wieland Grommes, Reinhard
practices.” See his The Other Freud, 58. the gender of a hermaphrodite according to the geni- Hesse, and Edgar Peinelt (Wiesbaden: VMA-Verlag,
tals. For example, the organ through which urine was 2003), 184.
discharged, or discharged in a greater amount, or the
23. Rustam is the great legendary national hero of
occurrence of menses would categorize a hermaph-
pre-Islamic Persia and the epitome of heroic manli-
rodite as male or female; see Malek Chebel, Die Welt
ness.
der Liebe im Islam: Eine Enzyklopädie (The World of
ambiguous terms that could be interpreted as restoration of Chaos, of the undifferentiated 605
referring to an actual person, either male or unity that preceded the Creation.”27 According
female, or as a metaphorical and allegorical to Eliade, androgyny in many religions func-
allusion to the immaterial beauty of the tran- tions as “an archaic and universal formula for
scendental Beloved. This ambiguity is intensi- the expression of wholeness, the co-existence
fied by the lack of gender distinction in the of the contraries, or coincidentia oppositorum . . .
Persian language. Effeminacy, or the lack of suf- symboliz[ing] . . . perfection . . . [and] ultimate
ficiently marked masculinity, can be discerned being.”28

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
in descriptions of the ideal of human beauty The androgyne as an archetype, which
in Persian mystical poetry. Particularly in Per- symbolically fuses the chaos of gendered sub-
sian lyrical poetry the Beloved is often ideal- jectivities into a plenary and transcendental
ized as a handsome male youth of premature totality, has no place in Rumi’s Masnavi. The
age.24 For example, in Persian lyrical poetry the communication of mystical knowledge is the
ideal of human beauty is described as a boy of leitmotif of the entire corpus of Rumi’s Mas-
fourteen with the first traces of beard or mous- navi; it is what animates every page of this
tache on his face.25 The sexual ambiguity of the mystical book. The communication of mysti-
Beloved and its exemplification in human form cal knowledge, however, is a process in which
appear to be premised on the collapsing of the the hidden content of secrecy is never fully di-
gendered categories of masculine and feminine vulged, but only disclosed in its concealment.
into an androgynous figure. However, the an- Taking a cue from Lacan’s theory of signifi-
drogynous descriptions of the Beloved do not cation, this process could be articulated as a
entail an abandonment of gender categories. process of signification in which the eventual
The depictions of a handsome beardless boy contents of mystical knowledge are always antic-
do not constitute a “neutral” third gender or ipated by the communicative interplay of signi-
an abstract body; he may be “feminized,” but fiers but never fully divulged.29 In other words,
he remains a prepubescent male and his body a definite closure of mystical knowledge is in-
is marked with the primary markers of mascu- definitely deferred. Creation in its entirety can
linity. be viewed as veils (or signifiers) that reveal
In the context of modern theories of gen- and conceal, or, as William Chittick writes, “To
der it is generally acknowledged that the ex- emerge from one veil is to enter into another
aminations of the figures of androgyne and veil.”30 In this context, no formulation of whole-
hermaphrodite always encounter problems of ness in an androgynous figure of male youth is
definition. Some have argued for hermaphro- to be found in the Masnavi. Rumi’s view of the
ditism as biological fact and androgyny as po- androgynous figure of male youth may be found
etic fiction, while others propose androgyny in the tale of a beardless youth who spends the
as the fiction of original plenitude and whole- night in the house of “celibates” and is sexually
ness and hermaphroditism as the fiction of attacked by a “homosexual” (6:3843–83). In the
displaced origins.26 In this context, Mircea Eli- argument that ensues the youngster explains
ade’s “divine androgyne” may be an apt term that both men and women view him as a sex-
for a transcendental archetype of Divine beauty ual object wherever he goes. In the Sufi hospice
whose function he describes as “a symbolic a bunch of greedy porridge-eaters assault him,

24. “Contemplating the young men” was justified by 26. The examples corresponding to the former and 28. Mircea Eliade, Myth, Dreams, and Mysteries (New
recourse to this alleged saying of the Prophet: “I be- the latter opinions include Catriona MacLeod, Em- York: Harper and Row, 1975), 174–75.
held the Angel Gabriel in the form of Dahya al-Kalbi,” bodying Ambiguity: Androgyny and Aesthetics from
29. See Jacques Lacan, The Seminar, bk. 11, The Four
a handsome Arab youth. Or, “I saw my Lord in the Winckelmann to Keller (Detroit: Wayne State Univer-
Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, trans. Alan
shape of a beautiful young man, with his cap awry.” sity, 1998), 28; and Kari Weil, Androgyny and the De-
Sheridan (London: Hogarth and the Institute of Psy-
For a discussion of these sayings, see Annemarie nial of Difference (Charlottesville: University Press of
cho-Analysis, 1977), 207; also see his Écrits: A Selec-
Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: Virginia, 1992), 9–11, 17–21.
tion, 153–54.
University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 289–91.
27. Mircea Eliade, “Androgynes,” in The Encyclopedia
30. William C. Chittick, “The Paradox of the Veil in Su-
25. Ibid., 289; also see Annemarie Schimmel, As of Religion, ed. Eliade (New York: MacMillan, 1987),
fism,” in Rending the Veil: Concealment and Secrecy
through a Veil: Mystical Poetry in Islam (New York: 1:277; also see his The Two and the One, trans. J. M.
in the History of Religions, ed. Elliot R. Wolfson (New
Columbia University Press, 1982), 68. Cohen (London: Harvill, 1965), 110–12.
York: Seven Bridges, 1999), 59–86.
606 “with their eyes full of semen and the palms [of and circle of disciples.34 Perhaps it was Shams’s
their hands] squeezing their testicles” (6:3856– personal characteristic of agitating the habitual
57). He explains that even the one who has the routine that caused the intense attraction be-
most regard for the (Muslim) law (i.e., a jurist), tween him and Rumi. As if “to shock his listeners
“steals covert glances [while] stroking his penis” out of their complacent, ‘normal’ attitude,” as
(6:3858). All these tribulations are due to the Annemarie Schimmel puts it, in the Masnavi or
fact that the beardless boy is considered neither in his Divan Rumi himself utters statements that
a man nor a woman (6:3865). Rumi concludes, contradict all logic and orderliness.35
i ve
a rat “Three or four strands of hair on the chin just Examples from the Masnavi illustrate the
mp
Co for show / is better than [protecting oneself point that, far from a symbolic resolution of
of
d ies with] thirty bricks around the back [kun, liter- chaos in an undifferentiated unity, Rumi’s ide-
Stu
ia, ally ass]” (6:3868). alized human, the Shaikh, disrupts and agitates
As
uth For Rumi it is not the androgynous boy the apparently unified and seamless contours of
So he
n dt of fourteen who symbolizes the Beloved in hu- the located subjectivities. The Shaikh functions
ic aa
Af r st man form, but the Shaikh, the esoteric master. like a mirror in which the self-absorbing disci-
Ea
le For example, in Persian mystical poetry the fig- ple sees his own true self (5:1437). In another
M idd
ure of Yusuf (the biblical Joseph), is generally passage the body of the Shaikh (or perhaps the
depicted as the transcendental (androgynous) “body” of his work, like the Masnavi) is likened
paragon of youthful beauty and purity. In his to a mirror that reflects Divine Creativity in the
lyrical poems in the Divan, where in hundreds first place.36 It also reflects the reality of the indi-
of instances the figure of Yusuf is noted, Yusuf is vidual subjects that stand before it back to them.
equated with Shams al-Din Tabrizi.31 Shams was In these examples the body of the Shaikh as a
the wandering enigmatic mystic who profound- mirror does not merely reproduce the likeness
ly affected Rumi; the Divan in its entirety (more of an already constituted original self. The mir-
than thirty thousand verses) is inspired by and roring effect of the Shaikh’s body shatters the
dedicated to him.32 Shams was the Beloved ide- illusions of unity and cohesiveness of the bodies
alized in human form, the esoteric master who that are reflected in it.
kindles the fire of mystical love in Rumi. As a
historical figure, Shams is described as an over- The Phallus and the Androcentric Context
powering charismatic mystic of strange behav- of the Masnavi
ior who shocked people with his remarks and It is uncertain—and in any event irrelevant—
harsh words.33 In fact, his presence in Rumi’s how prominent the hermaphrodites were in
town of Konya and his intense friendship with Rumi’s social milieu; however, his repudia-
Rumi caused a disturbance in Rumi’s family tion of the hermaphrodites in the Masnavi is

31. Annemarie Schimmel, “Yusuf in Mawlana Rumi’s reported account of his meeting with Awhad al-Din 35. Annemarie Schimmel, “Mawlana Rumi, Yesterday,
Poetry,” in The Heritage of Sufism, vol. 2, The Legacy Kirmani (d. ca. 1238). Kirmani was one of the mystical Today, and Tomorrow,” in Poetry and Mysticism in Is-
of Medieval Persian Sufism (1150–1500), ed. Leonard poets who contemplated absolute beauty in the form lam: The Heritage of Rumi, ed. Amin Banani, Richard
Lewisohn (Oxford: Oneworld, 1999), 50–59. of an unbearded youth. He told Shams, “I see the re- Hovannisian, and Georges Sabagh (Cambridge: Cam-
flection of the moon [some versions of the story have bridge University Press, 1994), 5–27.
32. For a comprehensive examination of historical
the sun] in a vessel filled with water.” Shams rebuked
sources for Shams’s life and teachings, see Franklin 36. For the concept of the Shaikh and the mirror,
him by saying, “If you have no boil on your neck, why
Lewis, Rumi, Past and Present, East and West: The see Maria E. Subtelny, “La langue des oiseaux: L’in-
don’t you look at it in the sky?” This story is related
Life, Teaching, and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi (Ox- spiration et le langage chez Rumi” (“The Language
in ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami, Nafahat al-Uns, Muhammad
ford: Oneworld, 2000), 134–204. of the Birds: Inspiration and Language in the Poetry
Tawhidipur (Tehran: Sa’di AH 1336/1957), 59; also see
of Rumi”), in L’inspiration: Le souffle créateur dans
33. A well-known story about Shams, which is perti- Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam, 313; Lewis,
les arts, littératures et mystiques du Moyen Âge eu-
nent to the discussion of the contemplation of the Rumi, Past and Present, 151–54.
ropéen et proche-oriental (Inspiration: The Creative
Beloved through the visage of a beautiful boy, is the
34. Annemarie Schimmel, The Triumphal Sun: A Breath in Art, Literature, and the Mystics in the Euro-
Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi (Albany: State pean and Near Eastern Middle Ages), ed. Claire Kap-
University of New York Press, 1993), 19–20; Schimmel, pler and Roger Grozelier (Paris: CNRS, in press); the
Mystical Dimensions of Islam, 313–14. Shams seems English version forthcoming is “The Master behind
to have eventually disappeared, or reportedly mur- the Mirror of the Text: Rumi on Inspiration, Initiation,
dered, although an investigation of historical sources and Language.”
on his disappearance disputes the murder theory; see
Lewis, Rumi, Past and Present, 185–92.
significant for understanding the symbolizing pregnancy. These obvious elements of erotic- 607
arrangements of this mystical epic.37 The her- mystical union hint at what is conspicuously
maphrodite body is an anomaly that cannot be absent: the membrum virile, the divine creative
simply inserted into a signifying process that in power analogized as the phallus, whose pres-
some instances can be characterized as phallo- ence is only implied. Lacan’s insight, that in or-
centric, that is, the particular arrangements of der to function as a signifier, the phallus must
signification in which the phallus is the priv- be veiled, is most relevant here.39 Thus, the an-
ileged structuring signifier.38 Were it possible swer to the question of the missing part in the

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
to incorporate it into the phallocentric process equation of the erotic-mystical encounter of the
of signification, the hermaphrodite body would Universal and the individual soul is clarified in
unsettle a phallocentric system of signification its obfuscation: the presence of the phallus can-
that is clearly predicated on receptivity and dis- not be ruled out, nor can its absence be com-
possession, symbolized by the feminine on one pletely ascertained. However, this much is clear,
side and the active-creative impulse symbolized the phallus is “veiled” in its disclosure in the mo-
by the masculine on the other. For example, ment of the “touch/contact” of the Universal
Rumi alludes to this feminine/receptive-mascu- soul with the individual soul.
line/active relationship of symbolization in the It is by being veiled that the phallus per-
context of the sexual encounter during which petuates the continuity of the process of signifi-
Moses was conceived. Moses’ father tells his cation. The phallus is not fantasy or imaginary
wife: “I am like the cloud, you the earth, Moses effect, nor is it an object.40 The signifiers try to
is the plant” (3:883). The biological function refer to the signified (in this case, the phallus),
of the hermaphrodite’s sexual organs, or lack but the signified always eludes definite articu-
thereof, is contrary to the premises of phallo- lation in a particular arrangement of significa-
centric signification as found in the Masnavi. tion. Therefore the signifiers remain associated
The concept of the phallus as articulated only with one another, and the exact meaning
by Lacan is an effective conceptual tool for the constantly slips and shifts.41 The opposite of the
purpose of engaging the hermeneutics of the continuous process of signification is the literal-
Masnavi. For example, in the mystical context of ization of symbols, which reinforces a closure in
the passage about the erotic-mystical encounter the process of symbolization. In this phallocen-
of the Universal and the individual souls dis- tric system of signification, the penis best rep-
cussed above (2:1183–84), the Divine creative resents the static reification of ideals and sym-
power corresponds to the phallus, a symbolic bols that should never be literalized. In more
configuration that transcends all subjective con- than a few passages of the Masnavi Rumi likens
structions. In respect to that passage it may be the imaginary fixation on the external forms to
asked, “precisely which part [‘organ’] of the the presence of the penis. For example, in the
Universal soul makes contact with the ‘bosom’ tale of the prankster and the preacher, where
of the individual soul?” The answer may be artic- the prankster deceives a woman in a religious
ulated as the phallus. In this mystical encounter, gathering to make her touch his penis, Rumi
analogized in erotic terms, are present the bo- links the self-serving discourse of the preacher
som/womb, touch/contact, pearl/semen, and to the penis of the prankster (5:3325–50).42 In

37. Rowson argues that the category mukhannas in of publicly recognized and institutionalized effemi- 41. Hence Lacan’s argument that there is always a
medieval Arabic vice lists (which in his opinion can be nacy or transvestism among males in pre-Islamic and “radical break” between a signifier and any particu-
taken as broadly representative of Middle Eastern so- early Islamic Arabian society.” See his “The Effemi- lar signified. See his Écrits: A Selection, 154; also see
cieties from the ninth century to the present) had a nates of Early Medina,” Journal of the American Ori- John P. Muller and William J. Richardson, Lacan and
distinct social identity. They were publicly recogniz- ental Society 111 (1991): 671–93. Language: A Reader’s Guide to Écrits (New York: In-
able, “belonging, like other entertainers, artists, and ternational University Press, 1982), 15.
38. See Lacan, Écrits: A Selection, 281–91.
slave girls, to a kind of demimonde, where public ap-
42. For the full translation of this tale, see Nicholson,
preciation, and even fame, were accessible, but re- 39. Ibid., 288.
Mathnawi, 6:200–201.
spectability was emphatically not.” See his “Medieval
40. Dylan Evans, An Introductory Dictionary of Laca-
Arabic Vice Lists,” 72–73; in his study of “effeminates”
nian Psychoanalysis (New York: Routledge, 1996), 143;
in earlier Muslim sources, Rowson concludes, “There
Jane Gallop, Reading Lacan (Ithaca, NY: Cornell Uni-
is considerable evidence for the existence of a form
versity Press, 1985), 140.
608 another tale, that of the slave girl who had im- negated.”47 In order to symbolize and signify,
proper relations with her mistress’s donkey, the the phallus is bound to the penis through what
same connection is established between the de- Butler calls “determinate negation”; she writes,
ception of the external forms and the donkey’s “Indeed the phallus would be nothing without
penis (5:1333–1429).43 the penis.”48 Thus, the phallus and the penis are
It is instructive at this point to review the linked through negation and identity in which
relationship of symbolization between the phal- the phallus is dependent on the penis for its sig-
lus and the penis to provide a platform for a nifying action, and the penis, by virtue of not
i ve
a rat closer examination of the hermaphrodite body being the phallus, provides the occasion for the
mp
Co in the phallocentric context of the Masnavi. signifying activity of the phallus. Butler goes on
of
d ies The symbolic function of the phallus is not en- to argue for the transferability of the phallus,
Stu
ia, tirely disassociated from the biological opera- that is, its capacity to symbolize in relation to
As
uth tions of its corporeal correlate, the penis. It is body parts other than the penis. She suggests
So he
n dt quite clear that the Lacanian phallus is not an that the transferability of the phallus justifies
ic aa
Af r st object (even less the penis or clitoris), nor is it the notion of the lesbian phallus, which other-
Ea
le an imaginary effect, but it does symbolize the wise would be a contradictory formulation.49
M idd
penis or clitoris.44 Jane Gallop reiterates Lacan’s Butler deconstructs the privileged posi-
argument that neither the symbolic phallus nor tion of the phallus by showing it to be not a
its separation from the penis is a fantasy: “Phal- complete and originary signifier in itself, but a
lus cannot function as signifier in ignorance composite phenomenon dependent on its sym-
of penis.”45 In its erection, penetration, ejacula- bolizing effects. Butler is identifying a signif-
tion, even its physical shape, the penis provides icant capacity for adaptation of the Lacanian
an apt analogy for the symbolizing function of concept of the phallus to her concerns relating
the phallus. to issues of gender. The same capacity, however,
Thus, the phallus is not the penis, but it cannot be automatically transferred to the con-
does symbolize the penis. Judith Butler provides text of the Masnavi.
a pertinent articulation of the relationship be- It is important that Rumi’s cultural con-
tween the penis and the phallus. She articu- text be kept in view, as Elliot Wolfson points
lates the relationship of symbolization and dif- out in relation to the similar concerns in the
ferentiation between the phallus and the penis context of the medieval Kabbalah: “The issue
as one that presumes and produces the onto- of gender (and body more generally) cannot
logical difference between the two. A greater be isolated from [its particular religious and so-
emphasis on the symbolizing (signifying) func- ciocultural] contexts.”50 Rumi is writing in the
tion of the phallus produces a weaker onto- medieval Perso-Islamic cultural context, which
logical link between it and the penis. In But- is imbued with a predominantly androcentric
ler’s words, “Symbolization depletes that which worldview. In Rumi’s androcentric cultural con-
is symbolized of its ontological connection with text, the phallus may be viewed as transferable,
the symbol itself.”46 In this dialectical relation- signifying parts of the body other than the penis
ship where the range of signifying action of that or even bodylike objects. However, any part of
which symbolizes, that is, the phallus, is depen- the body that is signified by the phallus is always
dent on the extent of its differentiation from related to the masculine discourse of power
that which is symbolized, that is, the penis, the and authority, if not directly linked to the male
penis becomes “the privileged referent to be

43. For the full translation, see ibid., 6:82–87. 45. Jane Gallop, Thinking through the Body (New 49. Ibid., 57–92.
York: Columbia University Press, 1988), 128 (emphasis
44. Lacan, Écrits: A Selection, 285. It should be noted 50. Elliot R. Wolfson, “Woman—the Feminine as
in original).
that the phallus does not symbolize penis and clitoris Other in Theosophic Kabbalah: Some Philosophical
in the same way. The phallus symbolizes the clitoris 46. Butler, Bodies That Matter, 84. Observations on the Divine Androgyne,” in The Other
as penis envy, that is, as not having the penis. For the in Jewish Thought and History: Construction of Jew-
47. Ibid. Butler views the dependence of the phallus
implications of this negative signification, see Judith ish Culture and Identity, ed. Laurence J. Silberstein
on the penis in Hegelian terms as “almost a kind of
Butler, Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits and Robert L. Cohn (New York: New York University
master-slave dialectic.” See 263 n. 30.
of “Sex” (New York: Routledge, 1993), 263 n. 30. Press, 1994), 166–204.
48. Ibid., 84.
body.51 Even when an undoubtedly female or- 4082). They use crying as a snare to trap their 609
gan, like the womb, is put in symbolic commu- husbands (1:2394). Their dream is less than
nication with the phallus (i.e., re/signified), the that of a man on account of their deficient in-
male mystic does not assume female character- tellect and physical weakness (6:4320). Their
istics; the function of the female organ is simply bodies, like their cunningness and their sexual
appropriated as an analogy of a mystical creativ- urges, are presented as uncontrollable. When
ity generated by the Divine contact. Thus the menstruating, women are like infants who have
primacy of the male body in the androcentric no control over their bodily discharge; just like

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
arrangements of signification is never compro- the “vile” and “polluted” persons, they may soil
mised. the ground on which men pray (2:3424). A man
What is the significance of Rumi’s andro- cursing in anger calls another man dog, woman,
centric sociocultural context for his esoteric whore (or a “worthless bitch”) (1:3380). A cun-
concerns that are expressed in phallocentric ning woman convinces her husband that the
terms? What are the implications of the phallus sexual intercourse between her and her lover
always privileging the male body in the course that he is witnessing, is in fact an optical illusion
of its signifying operation? What is the status of (4:3544–57). A great mystic who has tamed a
the body in this signifying process if the symbol- wild lion, which he rides while using a snake as a
izing activity of the phallus always designates the whip, is unable to tame his own wife. Power over
penis as the privileged referent—even though the wild is granted to him for his forbearance of
this privilege must be negated to avoid closure his wife’s unruly and cruel behavior (6:2115–
in the process of signification, and even though 57). Juha’s cunning wife lures the notable men
the symbolized is clearly displaceable (the phal- of the city into her house with the promise of
lus may signify other parts of the body than the sexual favors, then extorts money from them
penis)? To answer these questions, the decid- (6:4475–4537).53 In addition to viewing women
edly androcentric nature of the Masnavi must as inherently deficient, the representations of
be examined. women in the Masnavi reflect their negative
To begin with, the representation of wom- contribution to the historical narrative of hu-
en in the Masnavi follows the decidedly an- manity. Rumi writes that it was the mother’s sex-
drocentric cultural context of its composition.52 ual urges that caused the descent of man from
The women in the Masnavi embody the nega- the high heavens, from being a pure soul to
tive qualities of the soul. With few exceptions, a body (6:2796, 2799). It was a woman who
notably Mary mother of Jesus (6:1884) and caused Joseph to fall from grace and go to pris-
the unnamed mother of Moses (3:948–60), on, just as a woman caused man to fall from
the women in the Masnavi function as the re- paradise (6:2801). The deception of Satan was
minders of the feminine nature of the carnal unable to work against Adam, but Eve’s decep-
soul. In this “feminization” of the carnal soul, tions succeeded in doing so. The very first blood
women are the externalized embodiments of shed by a human, Cain killing Abel, was for
the evils of the carnal soul. The world is likened the sake of a woman. Noah, hurt because of
to a powerful female sorcerer (4:3196) or a his unruly wife, sent a message to his menfolk
ninety-year-old hag with a foul-smelling vagina admonishing them to preserve their religion
(4:3149). In a marriage, the wife is “greed and from the misguided ones (women). According
avarice,” the husband is the intellect (1:2903). to Rumi, “The deception of women has no end”
Women worship color and perfume (5:2466, (6:4470–75).

51. For a pioneering Lacanian study of the phallus as 53. For a discussion of the literary figure of Juha or
a metaphor of male creativity in medieval Persian Juhi (the Arabic name for Khvaja Nasr al-Din) known
panegyric poetry, see Michael Glünz, “The Sword, the for his satirical anecdotes, see Ulrich Marzolph,
Pen, and the Phallus: Metaphors and Metonymies of “Molla Nasr al-Din in Persia,” Iranian Studies 28
Male Power and Creativity in Medieval Persian Po- (1995): 157–74.
etry,” Edebiyat 6 (1995): 223–43.

52. For a survey of negative representations of women

in Sufism, see Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Is-
lam, 426–35.
610 These representations of women as un- gesting that the “real” organ, that is, the one
ruly, cunning, and desirous physical creatures symbolized by the phallus, organizes and unites.
point to the view of the female body and sexual- In this tale the (donkey’s) penis regulates the
ity as the site of generating chaos and multiplic- androcentric normality by intervening in a situ-
ity. This is in contrast to the male body and sexu- ation that can potentially subvert the interests
ality, which are localized in the penis and viewed of the heterosexual economy. The heterosex-
as the unifying force of law and order. In the ual economy is regulated through a signifying
context of our contemporary Western feminist process based on phallic supremacy in which
i ve
a rat discourse of gender and sex, the same plurality the penis (of the male body) is signified as the
mp
Co and multiplicity of female genitals, desires, and privileged referent. The disruption of the rela-
of
d ies sexuality have been argued to be a strength.54 tions of heterosexuality entails the subversion
Stu
ia, In the androcentric cultural context of Rumi, of the organizing function of the penis and the
As
uth the multiplicity of the female sex and sexuality supremacy of its signifier, the phallus. Surely the
So he
n dt is viewed as a liability that along with any other donkey’s penis is not the penis of a man’s body,
ic aa
Af r st cultural or symbolic plurality and diffusion (like and surely a man’s penis is not the phallus, but
Ea
le giving in to one’s carnal soul for which women’s in that tale the penis takes on the required ac-
M idd
sexuality provides the metaphor in mystical lit- tions of regulating and controlling. Hence, the
erature) must be contained and subordinated penis in the tale functions as a signifier that, in
to a phallic primacy (the analogy of which is its metonymic contiguity, displaces the human
found in the genitals of the male body). Borrow- penis.
ing from Gallop, we may call this androcentric Another example from the Masnavi pro-
view of the male anatomy “the unicity of phallo- vides an instance where the penis is mobilized to
morphic logic.”55 control and regulate the sexual and class trans-
The penis plays an important organizing gression of a Hindu slave. A Hindu slave named
and controlling function in many of the tales Faraj (“Happiness,” literally “opening,” but also
in the Masnavi, proving that as much as the pe- “vagina” if vocalized “Farj”) divulges his hope
nis is not the phallus, it is the privileged organ of marrying the daughter of his master (6:249–
signified by the symbolizing operations of the 321). The master arranges for a fake wedding
phallus. Hence, the relationship of negation between the slave boy and his daughter, but on
and identity between the penis and the phal- the wedding night, he replaces the bride with a
lus continues to exert a structuring influence coarse beardless man disguised as the bride. In
on the androcentric relations of signification. the darkness of the night the boorish man rapes
This structuring influence of the penis is partic- Faraj until daybreak. The next morning, as is
ularly evident in its function of organizing re- the tradition, Faraj is taken to the bath “with his
lationships. For example, in one tale a woman ass torn like a beggar’s cloak” (6:310). After the
who satisfies her intense sexual urges with a bath the newlyweds are seated beside each other
donkey, dies when the donkey fully inserts his before the whole family, with the daughter of
penis into her vagina (5:1333–1429). The don- the family now replacing the boorish man. Star-
key’s penis functions as the instrument through ing at the bride in disgust, Faraj says, “May no
which the penalty for the woman’s transgression one unite / with such a dreadful evildoer bride
is meted out. The tale is premised on a conflic- as you.” And he continues, “During the day your
tive situation brought about by the unbridled face is fresh like that of young women / at night
sexual urges of women; also, the possibility of your horrible penis is worse than a donkey’s pe-
successfully satisfying this unrestrained sexual- nis” (6:315).
ity through a displacement of the penis of the In this tale, the transgression of the slave is
male body is rehearsed. The penis (of the don- related to his inferior social status as an outsid-
key) is a fetish that disunites and divides, sug- er, signified by such diminutive terms applied to

54. For example, Luce Irigaray argues that female gen- Porter and Carolyn Burke (Ithaca, NY: Cornel Univer-
itals have always been perceived according to male sity Press, 1985), 34–36, 69.
criteria, that is, according to “the sex which is one.”
55. Gallop, Thinking through the Body, 94.
See her This Sex Which Is Not One, trans. Catherine
him as “the little slave boy” (6:272) and “the penis.58 In the tale of the woman who had in- 611
little Hindu” (6:306–8). In anticipation of his tercourse with her donkey, the term “prancing
transgression of the boundaries of the social about” is used to note that the donkey’s pe-
body, in an act of racial and sexual violence nis is erect (5:3715). The hermaphrodite body
his own body is violated. The violation of the (or the impotent man) does not possess the
slave’s body is an act of signifying that his body corporeal penis that in its biological function-
is different. The slave’s body, then, emerges ing (such as erection or penetration) could
as a medium that is signified, or “inscribed” serve as the analogy of the phallus and its sig-

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
with difference and otherness. The inscription nifying function. Not surprisingly, Rumi calls
is effected through a signifying process that the hermaphrodite’s penis a khurtum, an Ara-
is localized in the penis. The technical de- bic term that in Persian denotes both “penis”
vice of inscription, the penis, thus retains the and “proboscis” or “trunk of an elephant.” In
significance.56 The penis fulfills the same orga- this context, the pliancy of the elephant’s trunk
nizational function in this tale as it did in the seems to be the point, so khurtum can be trans-
tale of the woman who had an improper rela- lated as the “supple penis” or the “penis that
tionship with her donkey—it regulates and con- cannot stand erect” (6:1428). This is supported
trols the limits of sexual and social relations. by the Arabic term mukhannas used by Rumi
The penis then is the privileged referent of a to designate the category of hermaphrodite or
signifying process in which the phallus insists as effeminate male (6:1425). As Everett Rowson
the privileged signifier. points out, “The Arabic term mukhannath is de-
It is evident that the hermaphrodite body rived from a root signifying ‘bending, flexibility,
is an anomaly that cannot fit within this phal- languor.’”59 The term mukhannas, derived from
lomorphic logic. It neither has a functional the verb khanasa in the first form, indicates pli-
penis that can affirm the primacy of the phallus ability, flexibility, and suppleness.60
through a determinate negation (“phallic- Rumi’s denunciation of the hermaphro-
same,” to borrow from Gallop), nor does it em- dite body or of the impotent man negates the
body the female genitals, the vagina (“phallic- multiplicity of the lived bodies but confirms the
opposite, receptacle, castrated hole”).57 The phallocentric orientation that is operative in
textual evidence that Rumi provides indicates the Masnavi. The hermaphrodite body remains
that it is precisely the hermaphrodite’s dysfunc- an anomaly that must be rejected and excised
tional penis which is evidence of the deceit- from the phallocentric process of signification.
fulness of his claim (5:2510). In other words, The question that arises is, what is the func-
the penis of the hermaphrodite that cannot tion of the hermaphrodite body in a phallocen-
become erect is the cause of the rejection of tric system of signification that takes the (erect)
the hermaphrodite body. The rejection of the penis as the privileged referent? To pose the
hermaphrodite body is indicative of the priv- question differently, what is the function of the
ileged position of the male body, particularly hermaphrodite body in a system of signification
the penis, as the privileged referent in all rela- predicated on the analogy of clearly defined
tions of symbolization that originate from the and predictable dualities such as masculine-
phallus. feminine or active-receptive? Rumi points out
It is safe to assume that, when speaking of that God created hermaphrodite genitals as a
the phallus, it is only of an erect “organ” that kind of reproaching example: “[In regard to
we speak; unless otherwise noted, every men- the hermaphrodite] God has said: ‘from that
tion of the penis in the Masnavi is of an erect hidden vagina of his / We will create a shullah

56. In this formulation I am indebted to Paul Conner- 58. For example, there are instances that the penis is mukhannas as a derivative of khunsa, meaning her-
ton’s discussion in his How Societies Remember (New noted for its erectile dysfunction (5:3945, 6:4425–26). maphrodite. Later Muslim lexicographers defined the
York: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 72–104. mukhannas as an effeminate on the basis of his re-
59. Rowson, “Medieval Arabic Vice Lists,” 70.
semblance to women (e.g., the softness of his voice)
57. Gallop, Thinking through the Body, 94.
60. Rowson provides a survey of early Muslim lexi- or his imitation of women’s behavior. See Rowson,
cographers such as al-Khalil Ibn Ahmad (d. ca. 786), “The Effeminates of Early Medina,” 672–73.
who on the basis of parallel gender ambiguity viewed
612 [a vagina or a menstrual cloth] on his [unerect- ference” is “inscribed” on his body, more pre-
able] penis [khurtum]” (6:1428). The phrase cisely on his unerectable penis, which is likened
“God has said” is an indication of the Koranic to the clearly visible supple trunk of an ele-
source of Rumi’s imagery of khurtum in this phant. This inscription is effected through in-
line.61 The Koran 68:16 contains the only in- sertion of the hermaphrodite body into a signi-
stance that the term khurtum is mentioned. In fying process that marks it with difference and
that chapter, after exposing an unidentified en- incongruity. Whether any particular physical as-
emy of Muhammad with epithets like “trans- pect attributed to the hermaphrodite (such as
i ve
a rat gressor,” “defamer,” “base-born” (zanim, i.e., unerectable penis) is real or imagined is irrele-
mp
Co born out of wedlock), God tells Muhammad: vant, because all aspects of the hermaphrodite
of
d ies “We will brand him on the nose.”62 It is interest- body are the locus of difference. Rumi men-
Stu
ia, ing that Rumi uses the term khurtum from this tions the penis, beard, moustache, and “heart
As
uth verse as a satirical reference to the penis of the filled with unmanliness” (5:2510–11). Other
So he
n dt hermaphrodite.63 This is another example of physical aspects of the hermaphrodite body are
ic aa
Af r st reading a sexual meaning into a Koranic verse provided by earlier Muslim lexicographers: lan-
Ea
le that originally had no apparent sexual content. guidness of limbs, tenderness, delicacy, and soft-
M idd
It seems that Rumi interprets the verse as, “We ness of the voice.65
will brand him [the enemy of Muhammad] on
the penis”; that is, the penis will bear the mark Gender of Memory, Body of Secrecy
of being a zanim (one born out of wedlock), pre- Privileging the penis in the context of the de-
sumably on the Day of Judgment. cidedly androcentric cultural norms in the Mas-
The significance of the use of the term navi would appear to be essentializing the at-
khurtum in the line from the Masnavi lies in tributes of biological sex and body. Certainly
the metonymic relationship that is established this cannot be the case, because according to
between penis and nose. In this instance, the Rumi the primary signifiers of the masculine
nose (likened to the trunk of an elephant) is gender, like the penis, do not have an intrin-
substituted for the penis. What permits this sub- sic predetermined significance in themselves.
stitution seems to be the genital ambiguity at- Nor is it the case that the constructive nature
tributed to the hermaphrodite body, more pre- of subjectivity entails voluntarism and freedom
cisely the ambiguity caused by the biologically of choice. A subject, for example, cannot con-
nonfunctional penis.64 That is to say, the pe- struct his or her sexuality at will. The complex-
nis of the hermaphrodite must perform its ex- ity of the relationship of symbolization between
pected function in order to produce effects, penis and phallus exceeds the oppositional de-
and it can perform only when it is erect. In the bates of constructivism versus essentialism. The
same vein, the function of the hermaphrodite relationship of signification between the phal-
body in the Masnavi is to demonstrate the nega- lus and the penis revolves around the signifying
tive effects and lack of order caused by the con- processes of veiling and unveiling of esoteric se-
fusion of the symbolic analogies of sexed bod- crets. The penis in this case is chosen because it
ies that must remain clearly differentiated. This is “the most tangible” and “the most symbolic”
confirms the privileged position of the penis element in the realm of sexual copulation, as
and the signifying power of the phallus. Not sur- Lacan points out.66 The penis, of course, lacks
prisingly, in the case of hermaphrodite, the “dif- a fixed and intrinsic significance. In fact, as

61. In a footnote to this line, Nicholson confirms 62. Koran 68:16. not considered to be “men,” but if they marry and
the Koranic source of the imagery of khurtum. See succeed in “perform[ing] intercourse in the male
63. For an instance of the use of this Koranic verse in
Nicholson, Mathnawi, 6:337 n. 9. In his dictionary of role,” and give the traditional proof of defloration of
a satirical—but not sexual—context by the Hanbalite
the words and phrases of the Masnavi, Sayyid Sadiq the bride, they can “become” men. See Unni Wikan,
theologian Ibn al-Jawzi (d. ca. 1116), see Ulrich Mar-
Gawharin, too, confirms that this line is an allusion Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman (Balti-
zolph, “The Qoran and Jocular Literature,” Arabica 47
to Koran 68:16; see his Farhang-i Lughat va Ta’birat-i more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), 168–86.
(2000): 478–87.
Masnavi (Lexicon of the Words and Interpretations
65. Rowson, “The Effeminates of Early Medina,”
of the Masnavi) (Tehran: Danishgah Tehran, AH 1337– 64. This can be supported by a recent study of a par-
672–73.
53/1958–75), 6:72. ticular group of hermaphrodites in Oman. They are
66. Lacan, Écrits: A Selection, 287.
discussed earlier, any perceived or real signifi- It is evident that a crude understanding of 613
cance of the penis as an organ must be negated sexuality as an urge that is resolved and fulfilled
in order for it to be the privileged referent and in consummative intercourse holds no sway in
to be symbolized by the privileged signifier, the esoteric concerns. Sexuality as an intense un-
phallus. Thus, it is not the penis as the physi- controllable urge, an example of which is given
cal organ, nor the sexuality associated with the in the tale of the slave girl who engaged in sex-
physical body, that is at issue here. In psycho- ual intercourse with a donkey (5:1333–1429),
analytic terms, the material properties of sexu- may as well be fetishistically satisfied with the pe-

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
ality and body are “sublimated” (i.e., they are nis of a donkey. In that tale, Rumi gives the prac-
repositioned as the objects of symbolizing ar- tical advice that to satisfy sexual urges one must
rangements of signification) into what should eat less or get married (5:1373). Just as desire
be called eroticism.67 for the imaginary occasion of a full disclosure of
Phallocentric esotericism then uses the secrets may as well be fulfilled through a closed
significatory efficacy of eroticism as a commu- literal interpretation. This is not to discount or
nicative mode of the symbolization of esoteric negate the role of sexed and gendered bodies
secrets in such ways that the secretive nature of as the bearers of cultural signification, but to
esotericism is not betrayed. That is to say, the highlight the function of the bodies as arenas
secrets can be neither absolutely hidden nor of “intractability” and “contestability” that offer
openly divulged; they must be communicated the very condition of a disclosure of secrets.69
(for otherwise the secrets might as well not ex- The viability of the modes of disclosure of se-
ist) under the veil of signifiers. As Wolfson in the crets in their concealment is posited on the ir-
context of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, writes, reconcilability and insurmountable differences
“The secret is a secret only to the extent that of the bodies and their sexualities.
it is concealed in its disclosure, but it may be The body is not merely a passive recipient,
concealed in its disclosure only if it is disclosed a tabula rasa; it can display resistance at the level
in its concealment.”68 Relationships of symbol- of signification and be a signifying body, even as
ization, structured along the lines of the erotic it is being signified. The hermaphrodite body is
relationality of an embodied and gendered sub- one example of a body that resists assimilation
ject, mimetically repeat the process of the dis- into a phallocentric process of signification.
closure of secrets in their very concealment. However, the resistance of the hermaphrodite
Eroticism is a mode of relation predicated on body does not disrupt the signifying operations
the indefinite deferral of consummation. In es- of the phallus. As an anomaly and a reproach-
oteric terms, this means that the communica- ing example, the hermaphrodite body is cited
tion of secrets is not an event, but an ongoing as a support for a signifying system organized
process, a structure of differential signification around the privileged function of the phallus.
in which the ultimate disclosure of the secrets Resistance can also be discerned in the Mas-
(or consummation in erotic terms) is always navi’s composition, where the strict rules of me-
deferred—one that is similar to the symbolizing ter and prosody that were imported into Persian
function of the phallus. The claim of an open from Arabic are occasionally overlooked.70 It is
and definitive disclosure of secrets is an illusory as if in this orderly celebration of disorder, the
conceit that amounts to a closure in the process Masnavi celebrated the materiality and variabil-
of symbolization. ity of the contested category of the body (of the

67. Whereas Freud viewed sublimation as the re- The Seminar, bk. 7, The Ethics of Psychoanalysis, 70. In her study of the mystical lyrics of Rumi’s Di-
channeling of suppressed sexual drives into socially 1959–1960, trans. Dennis Porter (London: Routledge, van, Fatemeh Keshavarz identifies many instances of
acceptable objects or activities, Lacan argues that 1992), 293. overlooking principles of literary decorum that give
sublimation is a change, linguistic in nature, in the the appearance of chaos to many poems of the Di-
68. Wolfson, “Occultation of the Feminine,” 119.
position of the object in the arrangements of signi- van; she calls these poems “celebrations of disorder-
fication. See Sigmund Freud, On Sexuality: Three Es- 69. These two terms are used by Butler in her discus- liness.” See her Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of
says on the Theory of Sexuality and Other Works, sion of the constraints put on the symbolic limits of Jalal al-Din Rumi (Columbia: University of South Car-
trans. and ed. James Strachey and Angela Richards sexuality and performativity of gender. See her Bod- olina Press, 1998), 98.
(London: Penguin, 1977), 69–70; and Jacques Lacan, ies That Matter, 93–95.
614 text), in which the ultimate matter of secrecy Through an open system of interplay of
remains permanently suspended. Even incor- remembering and forgetting, the material cat-
porating vulgar words and pornographic tales egories of the body can become vehicles for the
into one of the most celebrated Persian mysti- transmission of secrets. Since these categories
cal texts may be viewed as a form of resistance are variable and lack inherent significance,
against literary decorum and the conventions knowledge of them (constructed through the
of mystical poetry. It is as if Rumi intended to process of signification) is variable and contin-
subvert the totalizing operations of a signify- gent, which means memory itself is selective
i ve
a rat ing system that has a vested interest in erasing and variable. Put in the context of communi-
mp
Co the words that are deemed nonmystical. This cation, that is, the veiling and unveiling of the
of
d ies subversion is effected through intentionally in- secrets, the knowledge of secrets is always con-
Stu
ia, troducing a tension in the mystical flow of the tingent and variable. No single signifying con-
As
uth text, which upsets the rigid boundaries that set figuration can fully capture the secrets. Hence,
So he
n dt apart the categories of mystical and nonmysti- remembrance is a process of recovering se-
ic aa
Af r st cal. Hence, the significance of that which has crets, but only if this recovery is understood
Ea
le been neglected is inscribed into the texture of to be a re-covering. Since memory is selective
M idd
resistance.71 The text becomes a site of plural- and variable, and that which is to be remem-
ized meaning-production resisting the poten- bered is inassimilable into a unified and auton-
tial closure in the process of interpretation. omous symbolic form, memory is a symbolic
Symbolically, the Masnavi has no end—after configuration at best. Here the importance
more than twenty-five thousand lines of poetic of the hermeneutics of symbols (in this con-
interpretation it ends abruptly in the middle of text, remembering that cultural configurations,
an unfinished story. through which the recollection of the secrets is
As expected, the resisting bodies may be effected, are veils), and the role of an esoteric
marginalized or erased, as in the case of the master in giving a symbolic direction to the in-
hermaphrodite or the vulgar words used in terplay of remembering and forgetting, can be
the Masnavi, or punished, as in the case of the highlighted.
body of the “little Hindu slave.”72 The totalized It is significant that Rumi makes a linguis-
models of subjectivity produce reductionist tic connection between remembrance (zikr )
mechanisms of remembering and forgetting. and the penis (zakar ), which, except for the
Through this selective process, that which unwritten vowels, are spelled exactly the same
upholds the status of a particular subject as way. In one tale, the intention of a man for
complete and originary is memorialized. By intercourse with a woman is described as, “He
staging bodies that are contested and variable, remembered her and his penis became erect”
Rumi demonstrates that memory is variable and (5:3943).74 In another passage Rumi notes that
contested.73 Hence, the process of knowledge- a hermaphrodite was delighted to see a penis,
production can be linked to the ways of because “his religion and his spiritual chant
remembering, when memory is defined as the [zikr, literally “remembrance”] is not but for
subjective reconstruction (remembrance) of the penis [zakar ]” (2:3151). In these examples,
knowledge in unimpeded ways that sustains the Rumi draws attention to the etymological link
open-endedness of signification. between remembrance (zikr ) and penis (zakar ).

71. This significance does not lie in the crudity of 72. Masnavi 6:249–321, discussed above. and David N. Myers (Hanover, NH: Brandeis Univer-
these words, which is to negate the centrality of a sity Press, 1998), 214–48. In addition to Wolfson’s “Re/
73. In respect to the same phenomena of memory and
social-egalitarian dimension to Rumi’s act of resis- membering the Covenant,” I have benefited from his
forgetfulness in the context of the Zohar, Wolfson
tance. The significance of the bawdy passages lie in discussions in his Circle in the Square: Studies in
remarks, “Collective memory, no less than individ-
their symbolic function for unsettling the exclusion- the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism (Albany:
ual memory, is shaped as much by what is forgotten
ary discourses of control and domination that bring State University of New York Press, 1995), 49–52.
as by what is remembered.” See his “Re/membering
about imaginary closure in the process of significa-
the Covenant: Memory, Forgetfulness, and the Con- 74. “Zikr-i u kard-u zakar bar pay kard.”
tion.
struction of History in the Zohar,” in Jewish History
and Jewish Memory: Essays in Honor of Yosef Hayim
Yerushalmi, ed. Elisheva Carlebach, John M. Efron,
Technically, Rumi is employing the rhetorical (otherwise lions and elephants would be supe- 615
figure of tajnis (homonymic pun), which is fre- rior to humans), but that men are more mind-
quently used in medieval Persian poetry.75 More ful of the end (4:1618–19). Women are also
specifically, the link between remembrance associated with the material world (4:3196) or
(zikr ) and penis (zakar ) is demonstrated in a the earth (3:885). This adds a spatial dimension
tajnis-i naqis, “defective homonymy,” in which to remembrance and forgetting. The material
two identically spelled terms are distinguished world, characterized as feminine, becomes the
only by their vowels. It is important to keep in locus of forgetfulness.76

Eroticism in Rumi’s Poetry

Mahdi Tourage
mind that in Persian texts the vowels are omit-
ted. Hence, on the surface, the term denoting Conclusion
penis and memory look exactly the same; they The bodies and sexualities in the Masnavi are
are both spelled z-k-r. However, the “defective” not denaturalized or essentialized in a sin-
link that is established between the two can be gle transcendental androgynous configuration.
interpreted as a critique of the mode of percep- Neither does the contestability of the body
tion that is based on the external forms, or on equal its abandonment—just as the primacy of
that which can be seen by the external eyes only. the inner meaning does not entail discarding
This is in keeping with Rumi’s usual rejection of the literal sense, that is, the “body” of the text.
the deficiency of the “external eyes.” For exam- Rather, in the Masnavi the agency of the body
ple, the introductory lines of the tale of the slave is affirmed and mobilized for the purpose of
girl and the donkey (5:1333–1429) announce revealing esoteric secrets under the veil of the
that this tale is an exposition of the disastrous materiality and contestability of the body. In
consequences of deficiency in respect to vision the continuous process of the disclosure of se-
and an exegetical approach to the Koran 24:61 crets in their concealment, the contours of the
and 48:17: “There is no blame on the blind.” body may control and compel the “shape” of
Rumi notes that those who are deficient (naqis) the secret; that is, traces of its movement may
in their external eye are forgiven by God, but be intimated now and then in certain relations
that “every deficient person is cursed; which of symbolization. However, the hidden content
means every deeper insight and understanding of secrecy cannot be determined with certainty,
which is deficient is cursed.” for it eludes apprehension permanently.
The deficiency that is established through The secret is ceaselessly bound to the sym-
the rhetorical figure of tajnis-i naqis between bolic systems of signification that in their dif-
remembrance and penis suggests that the defi- ferential modes of relationality reveal the se-
cient ways of remembering are always related to cret in its concealment. Among the multiplicity
external forms. If one adds that the Masnavi’s of symbolic systems operative in the Masnavi
general view of women as deficient creatures is a phallocentric mode of signification, where
in respect to their bodies and their insight and the phallus functions as an esoteric symbol. La-
understanding, it is not far-fetched to claim a can’s theory of signification, which foregrounds
feminine gender for forgetfulness. Women are the phallus as the privileged signifier, is a rel-
commonly viewed as infants with deficient intel- evant conceptual tool for understanding the
lect and associated with the carnal soul (1:2618; structuring influence of the phallus in certain
2:2270–73, 3061, 3425). The difference be- passages in the Masnavi. The signifying oper-
tween men and women is not physical strength, ations within any configuration that is struc-
or the power and opportunity to earn a living tured by the phallus are dependent on the

75. For the rhetorical figure of tajnis, see Jalal al- 76. In regard to a corresponding dimension in the Zo-
Din Huma’i, Funun-i Balaghat va Sana’at-i Adabi har, Wolfson argues: “In the place of the masculine,
(Sciences of Eloquence and Literary Craft) (Tehran: which is the supernal covenant or the phallus, there is
Huma, AH 1374/1993), 50. no forgetfulness, for this gradation is the ontological
locus of memory. Beneath this gradation, however,
there is a place [which corresponds to the feminine
presence] wherein forgetfulness is operative.” See his
“Re/membering the Covenant,” 225.
616 communicative interplay between interrelated
symbolic levels of significance (like “masculine
and feminine” or “active and receptive”). The
dynamic interplay of aversion and inclination,
repulsion and attraction, cruelty and mercy,
sublimation and literalization, or remembering
and forgetting, points to the interplay of the
concealment and disclosure of esoteric secrets
i ve
a rat that links esotericism with eroticism.
mp
Co In some passages in the Masnavi the mys-
of
d ies tic’s creative impulse is analogized by certain
Stu
ia, characteristics commonly ascribed to the male
As
uth gender, such as the ability to engage in phys-
So he
n dt ical combat. These “masculine” characteristics
ic aa
Af r st correlate to sexual prowess and potency, exem-
Ea
le plified by the function of the penis. The mys-
M idd
tic’s act of divinely inspired creativity (e.g., in
the form of his literary output) is analogized as
the biological function of birthing in the female
body. The symbolic value of manliness is thus re-
lated to gendered and embodied constructions,
but it is not reducible to them. It may be ar-
gued then, in the androcentric context of the
Masnavi, where male experience is privileged
and prioritized, that memory is viewed as a mas-
culine phenomenon. It may even be argued
that, in instances where the phallus functions
as an esoteric symbol, meaning-production (the
revealing and concealing of secrets), framed
as a process of remembering, is analogized as
a phallic act. The validity of these supposi-
tions depends on the possibility of consider-
ing “masculine” in its symbolic significance as a
hermeneutical category stripped of its cultural
residue and contextual sediment. Rumi is re-
lentless in his constant emphasis on the irre-
ducibility of inner meanings to their contex-
tual and relational representations. However,
whether he himself is entirely successful in al-
ways transcending his cultural context is a mat-
ter of debate.