Eva de vitray Meyerovitch
By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem*
French researcher Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch (1909-1999) translated verses—quatrains—from the poetry of the famous Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi into French. The quatrain is the most authentic form of Persian poetry, presented in a simple and attractive form, free from affectation and artificiality.
Aisha Momad, who translated selections of the quatrains in Meyerovitch ‘s book from French into Arabic, says that the quatrains are among the most beautiful poems composed by Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Selections from them were translated from Persian into Arabic by Dr. Issa Ali Al-Akoub, with the assistance of Iranian professor Morteza Qashmi. Al-Akoub rendered invaluable services to Arabic readers by devoting a significant portion of his time to translating some of Rumi’s works and other works by several Orientalists on Rumi, shedding light on his mystical and literary achievements. The book “Rumi and Sufism” by French researcher Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch also made its way into Arabic libraries thanks to Al-Akoub’s efforts. Merovitch translated most of Rumi’s works, including “Fih ma Fih,” “Divan-e Mathnawi,” “Divan-e Shams-e Tabriz,” and “The Rubaiyat,” from which Momad presents selections in this book based on the French edition published in 1993.
The first translation of the Rubaiyat into French was in 1946 in Istanbul. It was an excellent edition by Asef Chalabi, comprising 276 quatrains. Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch, in collaboration with Jamshid Mortazavi, then translated a version containing over 1,000 quatrains, first published in 1987 by Albin Michel in France.
Momad says that Eva relied in her translation of the Rubaiyat from Persian on the edition by the great scholar Badi’ al-Zaman Foruzanfar, which included approximately 2,000 quatrains. However, she limited herself to translating only a few of them, as it was impossible to present the texts in full without losing their original beauty. Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch says in the introduction to her book: “This type of poetry differs from the Mathnawi or the Ghazals, presenting a significant difficulty in translation. This is not about conveying the meaning to the recipient, even if it is profound, as it always appears intelligible, but rather about the style and literary creativity. Because of the shortness of the quatrains, they contain a condensed set of images and connotations that belong to a specific culture and are difficult to translate easily into a second language.”
Hence, De Vitray-Meyerovitch chose to carefully select the quatrains so as not to distort the aesthetics of these poems, “where shades of spiritual states of desire, longing, sadness, dreams, and divine love intertwine.”
Translator Aisha Momad followed Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch’s example and chose to translate fifty quatrains without distorting the profound meanings or distorting the beauty and sweetness of the text.
The Presence of Jalaluddin Rumi in Arab Culture
Egyptian researcher Khaled Mohammed Abdo introduced the Arabic translation, writing: “In his book, This America: Research into the Arab and Islamic Roots of American Society, Jonathan Curiel devotes a chapter to discussing the ongoing seduction of Sufi writings and Arabic stories that captivate Americans with their sublime humanity, their melody of eternal peace, and the spirit of true tolerance that every human being seeks on this land of violence and destruction. Curiel’s observation applies to Arabs today, as the observer observes the flight of many to the spirituality of Islam, considering it a safe haven and protection from falling into the vortex of political alienation.”
In his introduction, Abdo discusses the presence of Jalaluddin Rumi in Arab culture, “which began with the publication by the Bulaq Press of the finest editions of the Mathnawi and its Arabic commentary (The Strong Curriculum for Students of the Mathnawi); It developed after the establishment of the Institute of Oriental Languages at the Faculty of Arts at the Egyptian University. Mathnawi then became a subject of study and translation, thanks to the early professors who studied under Orientalists specializing in Persian literature. While Abdo points to the lack of Moroccan interest in Persian Sufism, specifically Jalal al-Din Rumi, with the exception of the writings of Muhammad Na’im and Ahmad Musa, he notes a different interest with Moroccan writer and translator Aisha Momad, who presented us, for the first time in Arabic, translations from French of Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch, Leili Anfar, Ustad Elahi, Nahal Tajaddud, and others who were interested in or benefited from Rumi’s lessons. Momad translated the testimony of Sheikh Khaled Bentounis, Sheikh of the Alawiyya order, about Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch, from the symposium held in Konya to discuss Eva, into Arabic. Momad explained how Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch entered the world of Mevlevi love. Through her translations of Muhammad Iqbal’s books from Persian and English into French, De Vitray-Meyerovitch became acquainted with Rumi, and doors were opened for her. With its wide-ranging love and knowledge, it has offered its readers in the West several keys to entering the gate of Islam.
Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch says, “I have devoted my entire life to the great Sufi poet, Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, because I found his message to be relevant to our time. It is a message of love, with a fraternal dimension.”
Khaled Abdo also writes about De Vitray-Meyerovitch: “A dignified lady dressed like an old lady on a pilgrimage, her European features are not evident, and nothing distinguishes her from the other women sitting beside her. But as soon as you speak to her, you find yourself in front of a cultured woman of the highest caliber, a devotee who lives the beauty of Sufism and spirituality in a unique style. She travels from continent to continent to learn about the features of Islam through its men, ancient and modern, and discusses the great Orientalists such as Camussin. A close friendship develops between her and Islamic scholars such as Muhammad Hamidullah, and they are united by scientific and social work. Why is she not mentioned much in Arabic sources? Perhaps this is due to the scarcity of translations, which we can easily understand. However, we are surprised to learn that modern Sufi studies pay no attention to her tremendous effort in translating Persian Sufism into French, and instead focus on more recent efforts that would not have been possible without Eva’s efforts.
How did Eva become acquainted with the world of Rumi?
In 1970, Eva traveled from Paris to Egypt, where she taught at Al-Azhar and Ain Shams Universities. Regarding her conversion to Islam, she says: “I first learned about Islam academically, and I studied the works of the Pakistani poet Muhammad Iqbal in depth. I also studied the obscure aspects of Islamic law and the Sunnah, which are beyond the ordinary understanding, in order to understand their truth. I read the works of the philosopher Al-Ghazali, for example, and many others. I discovered that Islam is a living religion. I have always loved Al-Baydawi’s definition and interpretation of faith, as he believes that faith requires, in brief and focused terms, “that a person accepts something as real with a sound heart and mind.” I saw that Islam alone could fulfill this faith for me.” Eva earned a doctorate in philosophy and also studied Islamic sciences and the Persian language, publishing her book (Sufism and Poetry in Islam), specifically on Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes. Eva specialized in Islamic philosophy, particularly Persian Sufi literature. She was constantly searching for manuscripts, studying them, summarizing them, and translating them to European readers in a simplified and understandable language.
Eva dreamed of introducing the French people and all French-speaking countries to the aesthetic message of Islam, and she achieved her dream by translating most of Jalaluddin Rumi’s works.
Abdo says that Eva was introduced to Rumi’s world through the Indian poet Muhammad Iqbal, who said, “Rumi transformed my clay into a substance…from my dust he fashioned another universe.” De Vitray-Meyerovitch read Iqbal’s book, “Reconstructing the Religious Thought of Islam,” and found answers to many of her questions about her own religion, as she was born and raised Christian. The book engages with some Western philosophers and calls on Muslims to reconsider the Islamic system without creating any break with the past. From here, she embraced Iqbal’s writings and introduced them to Western readers, translating the greater part of Iqbal’s philosophical ideas into French, as well as a significant portion of his poetry.
However, Iqbal drew Eva De Vitray-Meyerovitch‘s attention to Rumi, and her study “Rumi and Sufism” appeared in 1977, after she received her doctorate in 1968 on “Sufism and Poetry in Islam.” In her last lecture in Konya, where Rumi is buried, on May 26, 1998, Eva told the audience, “I would like to be buried in Konya so that I may remain under the blessings of Mawlana until the Day of Judgment.” This was her last trip to Turkey. Eva passed away on July 24, 1999, at the age of 89, and was buried in a cemetery near Paris. However, some of her Turkish friends helped transport her body to Konya on December 17, 2008, on the anniversary of Rumi’s death.
*Lebanese professor and researcher.
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