The sama’ , literally the “Hearing” (of the cosmic harmony), though it was a fundamental rite of the Mawlawi darwishes order from the 14^th century, it came to acquire a particular cosmic symbology and precision in its modality in the 16^th century, when many leading figures of the intellectual and religious world joined the Order. The elaboration of the thought of Jalal al Din Rumi, in the light of the cosmological doctrines of Ibn Sina, Biruni and some mystical thinkers, defined the sama’ in its relation to the cosmos and the rotation of the celestial spheres and planets.

Some initiates through the particular rite drew on the complex gnosis of the cosmic power. Through the symbolic performance, spectators admitted to the ceremony were allowed the reception of the cosmic harmony and the unitary sense of the laws which regulate its multiple aspects. From this came the name – sama’khana – “the hall of listening” bestowed on the space in which the ceremony was held.laws