An analysis of Logos (Language) in Shams’ Masnavi and Ghazals with regard to Heidegger's ontological approach

Despite it is said that the antiquity of Logos dates back to Ancient Greek Civilization, it seems that the term is much older than that of Ancient Greek Civilization, perhaps as old as the presence of human beings on    Earth. According to western intellectuals, the discussion of Logos has seriously begun since the beginning of Greek civilization. The term "Logos" meaning logic or reason, and prior to the serious emergence of philosophy, it used to be utilized with other words such as “Mythos” meaning "belief" and "sensory perception". With the emergence of philosophy in Greece. the term "Logos" gradually began to differ from the word Mythos, and each of the two terms became a special school representative of thoughts and started to struggle with each other, in a way that, according to the scholars of philosophy, the whole history of philosophy can be considered as the conflict between Mythos and Logos in a way that, in the end, by drawing a distinction between that terms, the degree of rationality has been highlighted in Logos, thus, it dominated Mythos. In this way, as it turns out to be, the "word" in the Islamic tradition is also tied to the issue of creation, and in fact, is the cause the emergence of beings. The existence of such perception of the word “Logos” in the Islamic tradition embraces various areas such as philosophy, mysticism, theology, so forth. Similarly, Logos, as the concept of language, word, speech, etc. can be studied first in the Qur'an and then in the tradition of Iranian-Islamic mysticism.

background and Purpose of the studyNo single investigation has specifically been conducted regarding the topic of the current study. Nevertheless, the finding of studies that are indirectly related to the current study are pointed out here. These include the book "Mysticism and Thought" by Omid Hamedani, and some articles entitled "Language in the Language of Rumi" by Mohammad Taghavi, "The Theological Functions of Silence in the Works of Rumi" by Qasem Kakai and Ashkan Bahrani, "Ambiguity and Duality Language in Rumi's Masnavi" by Ali Badami and "The Nature of Language and Its Limitations in Rumi's Theory" by Ghodratollah Taheri. Among them is the book "Mysticism and Thought" by Omid Hamedani, articles entitled "Language in the language of Rumi" by Mohammad Taghavi, "The Theological Functions of Silence in Rumi's Works" by Qasem Kakai and Ashkan Bahrani, "Ambiguity and Duality of Language in Rumi's Masnavi" by Ali Badami and "The Nature of Language and Its Limitations in Rumi's Theory" by Ghodratollah Taheri. However, what distinguishes the present study from the other studies mentioned above is the analysis of different areas of language (logos) in Rumi's mystical system reflecting on Heidegger's ontological views. Still, among the research carried out, in most cases, the openness and the concealment feature of the language (logos) in Rumi's poems and works, particularly based on the text of his poems either without a theoretical approach, or with a combined theoretical approach, including the Philosophy of Language, Linguistics, etc. have been briefly noted. A descriptive-analytical method, along with library resources has been applied for the purpose of this research. In the present study, the researcher aims to have a new design, classification and analysis of Logos in Mathnawi and Ghazals by Shams from Heidegger's ontological perspective on the concept of Logos and its descriptions.

In the discussion of the book “Being and Time’ Heidegger finds it necessary to examine the concept of Logos and to etymologize the Greek word ’Logos’ in order to clarify the concept of phenomenology as the knowledge of phenomena. He refers to Greek language to find out about the origin of the word ‘Logos’ so that he can gain a deeper understanding of the word “Logos”. Heidegger's attempt to understand the term Logos by means of etymology can also be considered a historical study that is not unlike the philosophical function of the term "restoration". Heidegger's insistence on the historical study of the Logos is due to the fact that there is little evidence to guide the true meaning of the Logos, and it is clear that the Logos cannot be studied on the basis of contemporary components, and therefore, history must be referred to. He seeks out his answer though the analysis of Heraclitus’ works and scrutinizing his fiftieth part of the treatise. Eventually, he ascribed some features to Logos and makes its nature even clearer: Logos as "discourse"; Logos as Being-true or Being-false (either uncoveredness or concealment); and Logos as a reflector. All Heidegger mentioned about the Logos and its characteristics can also be seen in Rumi's poems, including Masnawi and lyric poems:Paradoxical aspect of uncoveredness or concealment of language (Logos) in Shams’ Masnavi and Ghazals (lyric poems)The dominance of covering aspect over openness in Shams’s Masnavi and GhazalsThe language (Logos) is like a covering dust in Shams’s Masnavi and Ghazals ShamsThe language (Logos) as cover upThe language (Logos) as an immature and imperfect phenomenon .

When Heidegger speaks of Logos in “Being and Time” and conducts a phenomenological study of this phenomenon, in fact, he tries to explain a connection between Logos and reality. As defining phenomenology, Heidegger first describe Logos as uncoveredness, and during the etymology of the term, he referred to its connection with the Greek Aaletheia. But then, he finds it like an overlapping phenomenon and considers apophatic function of speech as the main reason for occurring the overlap, as the most basic and lowest level of language function. In accordance with the world of mysticism, Rumi also uses language or Logos in various places in his poems with regard to what he notes as reality, examines language or logos and pays attention to its strengths and weaknesses.  Rumi expresses the openness and obscurity of the logos (language) in the representation of what he considers as “truth”, and eventually, like Heidegger, he states that the language (Logos), at its lowest level, is more leading in covering up than it is in revealing. In the end, through the obscurity aspect of Logos, Rumi indicates that Logos is an immature and imperfect phenomenon. Through his poems, he also acknowledges that language is an obstacle and a veil to perceive what in the world of conduct is called truth.