Very often, Islam is described as a patriarchal and male-centered faith. This has led many people outside of Sufism, even within the Islamic community, to completely ignore the importance of the feminine in Islam. This is perhaps due in part to the interiority of the female presence in Islam, this aspect of culture and religion is largely unknown, although extremely important (Schimmel, “My Soul Is a Woman”) . In recent years there has been much discussion and controversy about the role of women in Islam, but when looking at the most widely viewed and appreciated poetry of Majnun and Layla, the role of the feminine becomes quite clear. As shown by the way Layla responds to Majnun, the role of the feminine in Islam is to be a counterweight to the masculine. In short, just as Layla acts as both a spiritual reminder and voice of reason to Majnun, so does the role of the feminine in general (Galian, “The Centrality of the Divine Feminine in Sufism”). Although according to Islam both masculine roles and the feminine also have their origin in the Divine, it is good to take a look at the feminine in Islam and remember that the feminine should not be considered as weaker than the masculine. In fact, in the sources of Islam and in the growing Sufi tradition of said sources, there is a strong preference for the feminine aspect of Allah, and often women are described as being the most accepting of the truth that the Divine is the only thing of true importance. in the world (Galian, “The centrality of the divine feminine in Sufism”). “Allah is Creator. » This divine function is on the masculine side, representing the aspects of action, force, movement, rigor; Allah is the lawgiver. But there is also the opposite of this, a sort of undone or undone aspect of...... middle of paper ......n manifestations of the jalâl (masculine) attributes of Allah. The deeper side of Islam, which may be more difficult to appreciate, is preserved in the feminine attributes of Allah, that is, the loving, forgiving and merciful Divine Presence that brings hearts together. It is about the endless jamâl (feminine) aspects of the beauty of Allah (Galian, “The Centrality of the Divine Feminine in Sufism”). The predominance of the feminine nature of Allah is established in a qudsi hadith: “rahmatî sabaqat ghadabî” (My mercy precedes My anger). Works cited Galian, Laurence. “THE CENTRALITY OF THE DIVINE FEMININE IN SUFISM.” 2nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on the Arts and Humanities. NP, 2004. Web. February 4, 2014. Rūmī, Jalāl Al-Dīn and JA Mojaddedi. The Masnavi. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print. Schimmel, Annemarie. My soul is a woman: the feminine in Islam. New York: Continuum, 1997. Print.