--- description: Friends of Pope Francis aren't surprised that he cited a Muslim mystical poet from the ninth century in his encyclical on climate change. title: Meet the Muslim Mystic Pope Francis Cited in His Encyclical image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74d4d636bc4c4ce7/6988554655a859f873a8c929/pope-francis-islam.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [faith](/tag/faith/) ## faith Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Meet the Muslim Mystic Pope Francis Cited in His Encyclical by [Aisha Bhoori](/author/aisha-bhoori/) ## Aisha Bhoori Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 18, 2015 9:04 PM CUT  Pope Francis (C) listens as Mufti of Istanbul Rahmi Yaran (3rd R) reads verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, as Pope visits the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) on the second day of his three-day Turkey visit on November 29, 2014 in Istanbul. Pope Francis (C) listens as Mufti of Istanbul Rahmi Yaran (3rd R) reads verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, as Pope visits the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) on the second day of his three-day Turkey visit on November 29, 2014 in Istanbul.Anadolu Agency—Getty Images by [Aisha Bhoori](/author/aisha-bhoori/) ## Aisha Bhoori Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 18, 2015 9:04 PM CUT Pope Francis’ [encyclical on climate change](http://time.com/3925736/pope-francis-climate-change-encyclical-laudato-si/ "undefined") cited many of the usual sources: the Bible, his predecessors in the Vatican and his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi. It also cites ninth century mystical Muslim poet Ali-al-Khawas. In the sixth chapter of the nearly 200-page papal letter, Francis writes that humanity can “discover God in all things.” “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face,” the pope writes. In a footnote to that quote, he credits al-Khawas for the concept of nature’s “mystical meaning,” noting how the poet stressed “the need not to put too much distance between the creatures of the world and the interior experience of God.” He then directly quotes the poet: “The initiate will capture what is being said when the wind blows, the trees sway, water flows, flies buzz, doors creak, birds sing, or in the sound of strings or flutes, the sighs of the sick, the groans of the afflicted.” Alexander Knysh, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Michigan, said that the idea Pope Francis is drawing on in this passage has been influential in literature, including Western figures such as English Romantic poet William Blake. “According to (the idea), God actively and constantly reminds his servants about his immanent presence not just by means of various phenomena but also by various sounds and noises—rustling of leaves, thunder, rainfall,” Knysh says. It’s unusual for a pope to cite a Sufi poet, but those who have known Francis since his days in the slums of Argentina say that shows his personal touch on the encyclical. “He’s trying to foster ecumenical and interfaith dialogue about shared spirituality,” Father Augusto Zampini, an Argentinian priest and theological advisor to the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, tells TIME. “He’s inviting all human beings to transcend, to go out of themselves and therefore to improve the relationship that we have with our people, with the Earth, with God.” **Read Next:** [_Pope Francis Urges Climate-Change Action in Encyclical_](http://time.com/3925736/pope-francis-climate-change-encyclical-laudato-si/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3927357/pope-francis-ali-al-khawas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3927357/pope-francis-ali-al-khawas/"},"headline":"Meet the Muslim Mystic Pope Francis Cited in His Encyclical","datePublished":"2015-06-18T21:04:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:20:51.175Z","description":"He lived in the ninth century","url":"https://time.com/3927357/pope-francis-ali-al-khawas/","keywords":["faith","climate change","Pope Francis topic","Islam"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74d4d636bc4c4ce7/6988554655a859f873a8c929/pope-francis-islam.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aisha Bhoori","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aisha-bhoori/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74d4d636bc4c4ce7/6988554655a859f873a8c929/pope-francis-islam.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pope Francis (C) listens as Mufti of Istanbul Rahmi Yaran (3rd R) reads verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, as Pope visits the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) on the second day of his three-day Turkey visit on November 29, 2014 in Istanbul.","caption":"Pope Francis (C) listens as Mufti of Istanbul Rahmi Yaran (3rd R) reads verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, as Pope visits the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) on the second day of his three-day Turkey visit on November 29, 2014 in Istanbul.","creditText":"Anadolu Agency—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/faith/","name":"faith"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3927357/pope-francis-ali-al-khawas/","name":"Meet the Muslim Mystic Pope Francis Cited in His Encyclical"}}]}] ```