Josue Cervantes MENA 334: Islamic Thought Short Paper 1 10/10/13 When comparing poetry and philosophy it is unusual

to find common ground in the religious realm much less the mystical. One such case is that of al-Busiris Mantle Poem and Ibn Sinas Remarks and Admonitions. While both texts are considered by Islamic tradition as mystical their rationale and stylistic differences demonstrate distinct descriptions of happiness while maintaining a certain level of agreement in the premises of such and the attainment thereof. The Mantle Poem by al-Busiri acts primarily as a statement of praise for the prophet Muhammad emphasizing his qualities and achievements and contrasting these with Busiris own decadence. Throughout the poem Busiri paints a picture of vices and natural desires comparing their futility to the joy and benefits bestowed by religious piety. His juxtaposed descriptions express the idea that fulfillment is truly found through ones identity in Islam and devotion to Allah and his prophet. When Allah called him, who summoned us to obedience to Him, The noblest of Apostles, that made us the noblest of communities (Busiri: 121) Busiri implicitly differentiates between happiness as an emotional response and what can be labeled as joy, the former being a response to the goodness of the Prophet, No perfume can equal the dust that has gathered on his limbs, Happy is he who can sniff the odour thereof or can kiss *them+. (Busiri: 60-61) and the latter as fulfillment or purpose in life:

When one has help from the Apostle of Allah, Were he to encounter lions in their dens, they would be silent. Never will you see any saintly one who is not victories Through him, nor any enemy [of the faith] who is not broken. He [the Prophet] lodged his community in the safe refuge of his creed, Just as the lion lodges with its cubs in the thicket. (Busiri: 138-140). Ibn Sina makes a similar yet deeper distinction in the scope of joy and happiness in his own Remarks and Admonitions. By bringing his own definitions of pleasure and pain as either arriving at something one considers good or perfect or arriving at something one considers evil or defect, without any apprehensions, deterrents, and/or preoccupations accordingly (Ibn Sina: p. 753) Ibn Sina establishes a philosophical premise which is absent in Busiris writing. Ibn Sina lays a groundwork in which pleasure and consequently pain can be categorized as one of two things: sensual or imaginary. (Ibn Sina: p. 749) He goes onto to express both detriments and benefits to the general aspects of these two categories but not before delving deeper into their differences. Sensual pleasures are called so because of their connection to the sense, thus, for example, food is a fulfillment of appetite and provides pleasure to varying degrees. Imaginary pleasures he describes as those pertaining to non-corporal ideas or virtues such as the joy of winning a game or acts of charity (Ibn Sina: p. 749). These he also calls internal as opposed to the external sensory pleasures. Among the internal he qualifies the intellectual as the greatest of these: Therefore, if the internal pleasures are greater than the external ones, even though the formal are not intellectual, then what would you think of the intellectual pleasures? (Ibn Sina: p. 749). Ibn Sinas definition extends beyond

that of the mind and will rather taking the place of what one would call the soul, possessing access and existence on a more spiritual level (Ibn Sina: p. 761, Ch. 9). In Ibn Sinas opinion the Intellectual pleasure or the pleasure of the soul is greater because it is not subject to the flippant nature of the senses nor is it bound by physical limitation. In other words Intellectual pleasures have a more absolute bearing than what one would appreciate in say food, sex, or pride. These are subject to circumstance and perception while the Intellect is satisfied with The Truth and acts of goodwill. (Ibn Sina: p. 761). This statement is the focal point on his thoughts on happiness and attaining it. Although one might be tempted to overlook al-Busiris poetry in comparison to Ibn Sinas own work on the basis of philosophical grounds, both make allusions to not only the eternal aspect of Islam but also to the temporal and immediate and in doing so enter the mystical realm. Though Busiri tends to focus on the idea of the Prophets goodness and its impact on the lives of his followers past and present (Busiri: 121-142) and Ibn Sina extends his arguments to more general and universal aspects of the faith at the same time emphasizing their impact on the individual, both arrive at the same conclusion, namely that it is through the feeding the soul through intellectual pleasures (Ibn Sina: 752, 782) or dedication to the faith that will bring true joy and identity on an individual level as well as a communal. *+ he summoned [the people] to Allah, and those who attach themselves to him, Are attaching themselves to a rope that will not break (al-Busiri: 37) Though Busiris description of happiness as an emotion might be a softer example to Ibn Sinas intellectual pleasure category, Busiris entire premise of joy, its pursuit and attainment falls into this classification.

It is true that both of the examined texts contain mystical arguments and that the conclusions one reaches from both are fairly similar, though the scope and intended audiences are quite different. Ibn Sinas Remarks and Admonitions are a study and arguably an academic exposition of the mystical ideas of Islam, delving into concepts of celestial and eternal substances (Ibn Sina: Ch.9) whiles Busiris Mantle Poem can be described as a simplification of the formers concepts. By simplifying Busiri does not minimize the value or message intended but rather presents pictures which could be followed outside the academic, philosophical debates and understood by people of more common walks in life, similar to a parable. What Ibn Sina refers to in terms of spiritual substances and pleasures Busiri calls commitment to the Prophet and Islam. What Ibn Sina calls having joy in his essence (Ibn Sina: p. 782) that is experiencing a thing beyond longing and without apprehensions Busiri calls blessings emanating from the Allah through his Prophet, Never have I sought his protection, when fate was doing me an injustice, Without finding with him [the Prophet] a protection that was never oppressed. Never have I demanded from his hand such a rich thing of the Two Worlds, Without obtaining some precious gift from the best hand that ever gives. (Busiri: 83-84). It is in these difference that the two works separate. Busiri adds a specific and practical way of attaining such joy while Ibn Sina is not content to merely describe its effects but goes on to express the various persuasions and detriments in reaching the greatest joy. Despite this difference and might be the extent of devotion offered to the Prophet as opposed to the knowledge he presented, both Ibn Sina and al-Busiri agree that without such path attaining the goal of joy and happiness is but a fruitless endeavor into temporary and fleeting pleasures.