The phenomenon of simplicity and ambiguity in Mamluk Sufi poetry

Abstract

This study aims to show the most important literary phenomena in Sufi-Mamluk poetry. I have chosen from these phenomena the phenomena of (simplicity and ambiguity During the Mamluk era، this research examines the poetic orientation toward which poets turned، highlighting the most important artistic styles of this literary era. This era is considered one of the most important literary eras in Arabic poetry، due to its artistic richness، which contributed significantly to establishing the foundations of praise.       

Simplicity and ambiguity are rhetorical devices that rely on employing both the accessible and the complex to achieve the desired effect on the reader. The Sufi poet used them to reinforce Sufi meanings on the one hand, and to demonstrate the high level of linguistic proficiency possessed by Sufi poets during the Mamluk era on the other. It becomes clear that the Sufi poet deliberately employed simplicity and ambiguity to reach Sufi truths and the subtle details that nourished their souls with this overwhelming love. Through this rhetorical device, the fervor within them and the anguish that burdened their hearts were revealed. Their use of simplicity and ambiguity was not for a single purpose; rather, it served multiple purposes: sometimes in expressing divine love, and at other times in Sufi philosophy, which is based on investigating the intricacies of things and penetrating their hidden truths