Immortal Echoes, Mortal Words

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki  In this episode of the Rumi Podcast, "Drunk on Divine Love" (Part 2), we examine Rumi’s powerful metaphors of wine and intoxication in ghazal 1135 of the Divan-i Shams Tabrizi. But this is no ordinary wine—it's the divine love that transforms the soul. What happens when we surrender everything for a taste of this sacred cup? Rumi invites us to abando...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi In this episode of the Rumi Podcast, "Drunk on Divine Love" (Part I), we examine Rumi’s powerful metaphors of wine and intoxication in ghazal 1135 of the Divan-i Shams Tabrizi. But this is no ordinary wine—it's the divine love that transforms the soul. What happens when we surrender everything for a ta...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki  Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi Join us as we examine Rumi’s ghazal 162 of the Divan-i Shams Tabrizi, exploring the themes of “detachment,” “spiritual union,” and the “ultimate treasure of divine love.” Discover how Rumi’s words guide us to let go of illusions and embrace what truly matters. My question for you: Why does Rumi descri...

Rasoul RAHBARI GHAZANI Reyhaneh DAVOODI KAHAKI  Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi Rumi asks, What excuses do we have for the shortcomings within us? How is it that we crave Divine closeness yet stumble so often in faithfulness? How do Rumi’s words of self-dialogue help us navigate our inner conflicts and find balance in our lives? In this episode, we analyze the self-examination of...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi What does it mean to truly answer the call of love? In this episode of the Rumi Podcast, we explore Ghazal 1594 from Rumi’s Diwan-i Shams, where the beloved is not just a figure of beauty, but a force that burns, transforms, and awakens. Why are lovers called “helpless”? Why do they cry out “Here I am!...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi Why does Rumi refer to God as “The fire kindled in the woods of thoughts”? In this episode, we examine the captivating imagery in ghazal 1 of the Divan-i Shams Tabrizi, exploring how the Divine both burns and enlightens amidst the tangled forest of our minds. Discover how Rumi’s verses connect the para...

In this episode, I, Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, speak with Professor Catherine Keller, an influential theologian and thinker, about the mystery of unknowing and the language of unsaying in Christian mystical thought. Professor Keller—George T. Cobb Professor of Constructive Theology at Drew University—reflects on the living tradition of apophatic-negative theology. Together, we explore how theology be...

In this inspiring conversation, Professor Omid Safi (Duke University) joins me, Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, to discuss his groundbreaking book Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition. We explore the Mazhab-i 'ishq (religion of love), path of radical love, the whitewashing of Rumi in the West, and the unique mystical vision that refuses to separate Divine and human love. Professor S...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani In this interview, Associate Professor Shobhana Xavier from the School of Religions at Queen’s University shares her helpful insights into contemporary Sufism, particularly as practiced in Sri Lanka. We begin with her academic background and journey into the study of sufism, before exploring a wide range of compelling questions: What defines authentic sufism today? Can...

In this insightful interview, I, Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, speak with Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Poetics and Global Politics at SOAS University of London, about the power of (Persian) poetry to express what cannot be said in prose or philosophy. We explore: What makes Persian poetry uniquely capable of articulating philosophical and mystical truths Why Persi...

In this in-depth interview, I, Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, speaks with Dr. William Rory Dickson, Associate Professor of Religion and Culture at the University of Winnipeg, Canada, about his research on Sufism, his latest book Dissolving into Being: the Wisdom of Sufi Philosophy, and the practical dimensions of sufi philosophy.  Timeline & Questions Answered: 00:00:10 – Introduction and interview p...

What happens to Sufism when Muslim societies modernize? In this interview, I host Professor Oliver Scharbrodt to explore the transformation of Sufism from the premodern to the modern period, the place of reformist thinkers, and the complex relationship between Sufism, modernity, and political activism. 🎙 Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani About the Guest: Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of Islamic Studies,...

Join me for an inspiring conversation with Professor Claudia Yaghoobi (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), as she discusses the enduring relevance of ʿAṭṭār, the Persian Sufi poet, and mystic. In this interview, we explore: Timeline: 00:00 - 01:29 - Intro: Who is Professor Claudia Yaghoobi? 05:08 - Q1: Why ʿAṭṭār? What sets him apart from other Persian mystics like Rumi or Hafez? 22:26 -...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Co-host: Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Consultant: Mohammad Davoodi Music: Amirmohammad Monjezi https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi 🌙 In this episode of the Shi‘i Mysticism Podcast, we explore one of the most beautiful, elegant, and profound supplications in Shi‘i spirituality: Munājāt al-ʿĀrifīn, “The Whispered Prayer of the Knowers of God.” This intimate prayer, wr...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Co-host: Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Consultant: Mohammad Davoodi Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi How can mystical poetry awaken us to the deeper dimensions of love, patience, and hope? In this episode of the Shi'i Mysticism Podcast, we explain the moving verses of Shahriar, whose poetry expresses both longing and devotion toward the Perfect Human (insan...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Co-host: Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Consultant: Mohammad Davoodi Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi Why was Adam forbidden from the Tree of Knowledge? In Shi‘i Mysticism, the story of Adam’s fall is not simply about sin or disobedience, but about humanity’s longing for divine knowledge. This episode explores Fayd Kashani's Poetic Theo-Mystical Anthropology,...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Co-host & Recitation: Reihaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Consultant: Mohammad Davoodi Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi In this episode of the Shi'i Mysticism Podcast, I explore a powerful qasida poem by the renowned Safavid-era mystic philosopher Fayd Kashani, dedicated to the Fourteen Infallibles. This mystical poem unveils the pre-creational realities of th...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Recitation: Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Consultant: Mohammad Davoodi  Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi What happens when a soul born of the sea is trapped in the dryness of the barnyard? In this the Persian Mystical Poetry Podcast, I explore a profound parable from Shams Tabrizi’s Discourses (Maqālāt)—the story of the duckling raised among chickens. This d...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi How do Ibn ʿArabī, Mullā Ṣadrā, and Rumi represent three unique yet converging paths in Islamic philosophy, sufism, and mysticism? Which thinker should you choose to read and follow? This episode explores their profound contributions to metaphysics, spirituality, and personal transformation—and why the...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Unlock the Hidden Wisdom of Ibn Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam. Ibn Arabi’s doctrine of wahdat al-wujud (The Oneness of Being/Unity of Existence) is one of the most profound metaphysical ideas in Sufi thought. In this exclusive series, we delve into the esoteric meanings of divine Names, the Perfect Man, and the cosmic mirror of existence, as Ibn Arabi reveals the secrets of creatio...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi In this video, I explore why prophetic revelation is necessary if reason and mystical unveiling (kashf) can access divine truth. In Chapter One of the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, Ibn ʿArabī implicitly introduces a metaphysical vision in which reason, unveiling, and revelation form a threefold hierarchy of divine k...

Host: Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Recitation: Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Consultant: Mohammad Davoodi Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi Location: Mazandaran (Northern forests of Iran) In this episode of the Rumi Podcast, we explore ghazal 2054 from Rumi’s Dīwān-i Shams Tabrizi, a heart-wrenching cry to the Beloved—Shams of Tabriz. This mystical poem explores themes of separation, divine lo...

Why does God say “We” in the Quran? | Imam Sadiq’s (a.s.) Insight into Divine Speech Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi Why does the Qur’an use the plural “We” when God speaks—despite His absolute Oneness? In Shi‘i Mysticism and Islamic spirituality, this question opens a gateway to esoteric interpretation, divine light, and Imamology....

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi In this episode of our Ibn ʿArabī Podcast, I explore Henry Corbin’s interpretation of Ibn ʿArabī’s conception of imagination (al-khayāl) as the very organ of divine manifestation and ontological mediation. Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysics of imagination bridges Essence and existence, the divine and the human,...

Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani Reyhaneh Davoodi-Kahaki Music: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmohamdmonjezi In this video, we explore ghazal 2984 from Rumi's Diwan, a beautiful and profound dialogue between the soul and the Divine. This poem invites us into the interplay of concealment and revelation, the hidden artistry of the cosmos, and the awakening of the heart. Through the imagery of birds, veils, wine...