The Path of Love: Sufism in the Poetry of Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of “Sufism” or “mysticism” (the two terms are used interchangeably herein) in the works of Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore (1940 - 2016), an American Sufi poet, essayist, artist and playwright, who is referred to as "American Islam's Poet Laureate". The first part of the paper sheds light on the concept of “Sufism” or “Islamic mysticism” and highlights its central tenets. Using a theoretical framework informed by the Sufi theosophy of Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) and the writings of two important modern western scholars of Sufism, Annemarie Schimmel and William Chittick, the second part of the paper will study a selection of Moore’s poems from his collections The Soul’s Home (2014) and The Blind Beekeeper (2001). The aim of the paper is to show how Moore’s poetry reveals the major concepts of Sufism. In this regard, Ibn Arabi’s Sufi concepts act as a point of reference that helps clarify the interplay between the poems under study and Sufism.