Rumi and the Hopeful Satan

Despairing of God’s absolution is the most essential trait in Satan that has long been taken into consideration. In Masnavi and Shams Sonnets, Satan is regarded as an outcast, damned and hopeless character, but on special occasions, Rumi reveals hope to frustrated individuals and looks at creation story from a different perspective. This perspective is in line with tradition of defending Satan in our mystical culture, the tradition that is in contrast with traditional mystical approach to Satan, a narrow and obsolete but outstanding and thoughtful tradition. Although hinting at Satan’s hopefulness has been noticed in a few studies prior to Rumi, his eloquence and perspective in this area is unique, a perspective originated from his worldview. Noteworthy to say, even in the legacy of those mystics defending Satan there is not as much emphasis on this issues as Rumi’s and Satan mostly appears in the role of a tragic lover.