A Pantheist Reading of  Mirror in Bidel's Ghazals

The present paper aims at explaining one of the concepts of “mirror” as an allegory in Bidel’s ghazals and analyzing the link between this allegory and the ones used in thoughts and beliefs of Ibn Arabi. This paper mainly deals with the status of mirror in ghazals by Bidel as reflection of the highest point of Ibn Arabi’s mystical thoughts, i.e. oneness of existence. It is essential to carry out such study in order to explain how Bidel had been under the influence of Ibn Arabi’s thoughts and beliefs in this regard. As for methodology, the present paper is a library research conducted by using content analysis. Ibn Arabi explains the role of human, whose mind and spirit have fully matured and reached the highest rank, with an allegory like mirror, and describes the mystery of “truth reflection in mirror of imagination”. It should be pointed out that two factors are present in this allegory: mirror and the observer or witness who sees his face like an object in the mirror. In this reflective process, human being is both a linking loop and an identification factor, so he is both representative of the mirror and agent of the observed object. Mirror is a symbol of reflectivity of world’s nature and the observed object, and the observer is Allah Himself. Therefore, Ibn Arabi describes human being as “the original reflection”. Bidel, the Persian poet is a mystic who’s fond of mystical thoughts, particularly oneness of existence present in Ibn Arabi’s school of thought. He is considered as a follower and prominent speaker of Ibn Arabi’s thoughts, whose favorite allegory is mirror. The result of investigation into mirror as a motif in the ghazals by Bidel indicates his mystic thoughts about God, human and the world. Bidel’s high status among poets with Indian style, and how his thoughts are joined with language and poetic experiences are also shown.