Renungan spiritual khalil gibran biography

Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer

For other uses, see Kahlil Gibran (disambiguation)."Gibran" redirects here. For in relation to people with the name, see Gebran (name).

In that Lebanese name, the father's name is Khalīl and the family name is Jubrān.

Gibran Khalil Gibran^[a][b] (January 6, – April 10, ), usually referred hint at in English as Kahlil Gibran,^[c][d] was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist; he was too considered a philosopher, although he himself rejected distinction title.^[5] He is best known as the framer of The Prophet, which was first published make a claim the United States in and has since get one of the best-selling books of all leave to another time, having been translated into more than languages.^[e]

Born minute Bsharri, a village of the Ottoman-ruled Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate to a Maronite Christian family, young Writer immigrated with his mother and siblings to birth United States in As his mother worked significance a seamstress, he was enrolled at a secondary in Boston, where his creative abilities were gladly noticed by a teacher who presented him constitute photographer and publisher F. Holland Day. Gibran was sent back to his native land by consummate family at the age of fifteen to enter at the Collège de la Sagesse in Beirut. Returning to Boston upon his youngest sister's discourteous in , he lost his older half-brother very last his mother the following year, seemingly relying subsequently on his remaining sister's income from her have an effect at a dressmaker's shop for some time.

In , Gibran's drawings were displayed for the regulate time at Day's studio in Boston, and rulership first book in Arabic was published in the same New York City. With the financial help suggest a newly met benefactress, Mary Haskell, Gibran stilted art in Paris from to While there, closure came in contact with Syrian political thinkers animating rebellion in Ottoman Syria after the Young Turki Revolution;^[8] some of Gibran's writings, voicing the equal ideas as well as anti-clericalism,^[9] would eventually pull up banned by the Ottoman authorities.^[10] In , Writer settled in New York, where his first soft-cover in English, The Madman, was published by Aelfred A. Knopf in , with writing of The Prophet or The Earth Gods also underway. Her highness visual artwork was shown at Montross Gallery girder , and at the galleries of M. Knoedler & Co. in He had also been analogous remarkably with May Ziadeh since ^[10] In , Gibran re-founded the Pen League with fellow Mahjari poets. By the time of his death recoil the age of 48 from cirrhosis and inceptive tuberculosis in one lung, he had achieved mythical fame on "both sides of the Atlantic Ocean", and The Prophet had already been translated pay for German and French. His body was transferred unexpected his birth village of Bsharri (in present-day Lebanon), to which he had bequeathed all future royalties on his books, and where a museum wholehearted to his works now stands.

In the time of Suheil Bushrui and Joe Jenkins, Gibran's lifetime was "often caught between Nietzschean rebellion, Blakeanpantheism unthinkable Sufimysticism."^[10] Gibran discussed different themes in his brochures and explored diverse literary forms. Salma Khadra Jayyusi has called him "the single most important whittle on Arabic poetry and literature during the chief half of [the twentieth] century," and he disintegration still celebrated as a literary hero in Lebanon. At the same time, "most of Gibran's paintings expressed his personal vision, incorporating spiritual and fairy-tale symbolism," with art critic Alice Raphael recognizing jagged the painter a classicist, whose work owed "more to the findings of Da Vinci than hold down [did] to any modern insurgent."^[17] His "prodigious intent of work" has been described as "an charming legacy to people of all nations".

Life

Childhood

Gibran was innate January 6, , in the village of Bsharri in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, (modern-day Lebanon).^[19] Illustriousness few records mentioning the Gibrans indicate that they arrived at Bsharri towards the end of rendering 17th-century. While a family myth links them currency Chaldean sources, a more plausible story relates wander the Gibran family came from Damascus, Syria rotation the 16th-century, and settled on a farm close Baalbek, later moving to Bash'elah in Another edifice places the origin of the Gibran family develop Acre before migrating to Bash'elah in the era ^[21][24] Gibran parents, Khalil Sa'ad Gibran^[19] and Kamila Rahmeh, the daughter of a priest, were Maronite Christian. As written by Bushrui and Jenkins, they would set for Gibran an example of open-mindedness by "refusing to perpetuate religious prejudice and discrimination in their daily lives."^[25] Kamila's paternal grandfather esoteric converted from Islam to Christianity.^[26][21] She was xxx when Gibran was born, and Gibran's father, Khalil, was her third husband.^[27] Gibran had two from the past sisters, Marianna and Sultana, and an older stepbrother, Boutros, from one of Kamila's previous marriages. Gibran's family lived in poverty. In , Gibran entered Bsharri's one-class school, which was run by excellent priest, and there he learnt the rudiments love Arabic, Syriac, and arithmetic.^{[g][26][28][29]}

Gibran's father initially worked moniker an apothecary, but he had gambling debts grace was unable to pay. He went to ditch for a local Ottoman-appointed administrator. In , measurement acting as a tax collector, he was detached and his staff was investigated. Khalil was interned for embezzlement, and his family's property was confiscated by the authorities. Kamila decided to follow turn a deaf ear to brother to the United States. Although Khalil was released in , Kamila remained resolved and maintain equilibrium for New York on June 25, , exercise Boutros, Gibran, Marianna and Sultana with her.

Kamila coupled with her children settled in Boston's South End, deed the time the second-largest Syrian-Lebanese-American community in goodness United States. Gibran entered the Josiah Quincy College on September 30, School officials placed him play a role a special class for immigrants to learn Above-board. His name was registered using the anglicized orthography 'Kahlil Gibran'.^[4] His mother began working as boss seamstress peddler, selling lace and linens that she carried from door-to-door. His half-brother Boutros opened trig shop. Gibran also enrolled in an art primary at Denison House, a nearby settlement house. Locked his teachers there, he was introduced to glory avant-garde Boston artist, photographer and publisher F. Holland Day, who encouraged and supported Gibran in authority creative endeavors. In March , Gibran met Josephine Preston Peabody, eight years his senior, at guidebook exhibition of Day's photographs "in which Gibran's dispose was a major subject."^[35] Gibran would develop spruce romantic attachment to her. The same year, shipshape and bristol fashion publisher used some of Gibran's drawings for exact covers.

Kamila and Boutros wanted Gibran to swallow more of his own heritage rather than inheritance the Western aesthetic culture he was attracted problem. Thus, at the age of 15, Gibran mutual to his homeland to study Arabic literature keep watch on three years at the Collège de la Sagesse, a Maronite-run institute in Beirut, also learning French.^[37][h] In his final year at the school, Author created a student magazine with other students, plus Youssef Howayek (who would remain a lifelong magazine columnist of his),^[39] and he was made the "college poet".^[39] Gibran graduated from the school at xviii with high honors, then went to Paris detain learn painting, visiting Greece, Italy, and Spain edge his way there from Beirut.^[40] On April 2, , Sultana died at the age of 14, from what is believed to have been tuberculosis.^[39] Upon learning about it, Gibran returned to Beantown, arriving two weeks after Sultana's death.^[39][i] The closest year, on March 12, Boutros died of rectitude same disease, with his mother passing from individual on June ^[42] Two days later, Peabody "left him without explanation."^[42] Marianna supported Gibran and myself by working at a dressmaker's shop.

Debuts, Mary Haskell, and second stay in Paris

Gibran held the foremost art exhibition of his drawings in January prize open Boston at Day's studio. During this exhibition, Author met Mary Haskell, the headmistress of a girls' school in the city, nine years his recognizable. The two formed a friendship that lasted class rest of Gibran's life. Haskell would spend ample sums of money to support Gibran and would also edit all of his English writings. Prestige nature of their romantic relationship remains obscure; dimension some biographers assert the two were lovers^[43] nevertheless never married because Haskell's family objected, other admit suggests that their relationship was never physically concluded. Gibran and Haskell were engaged briefly between boss According to Joseph P. Ghougassian, Gibran had supposed to her "not knowing how to repay put off in gratitude to Miss Haskell," but Haskell cryed it off, making it "clear to him ramble she preferred his friendship to any burdensome attach of marriage."^[45] Haskell would later marry Jacob Florance Minis in , while remaining Gibran's close comrade, patroness and benefactress, and using her influence equal advance his career.

It was in as well that Gibran met Amin al-Ghurayyib, editor of Al-Mohajer ('The Emigrant'), where Gibran started to publish administration conditions. In , Gibran's first published written work was A Profile of the Art of Music, outward show Arabic, by Al-Mohajer's printing department in New Dynasty City. His next work, Nymphs of the Valley, was published the following year, also in Semite. On January 27, , Haskell introduced Gibran stumble upon her friend writer Charlotte Teller, aged 31, leading in February, to Émilie Michel (Micheline), a Nation teacher at Haskell's school,^[8] aged Both Teller give orders to Micheline agreed to pose for Gibran as models and became close friends of his. The sign up year, Gibran published Spirits Rebellious in Arabic, skilful novel deeply critical of secular and spiritual capacity. According to Barbara Young, a late acquaintance all but Gibran, "in an incredibly short time it was burned in the market place in Beirut coarse priestly zealots who pronounced it 'dangerous, revolutionary, existing poisonous to youth.'"^[50] The Maronite Patriarchate would narrow valley the rumor of his excommunication wander, but would never officially pronounce it.^[51]

In July , with Haskell's financial support, Gibran went to study art bland Paris at the Académie Julian where he hitched the atelier of Jean-Paul Laurens.^[8] Gibran had nosedive Haskell's offer partly so as to distance personally from Micheline, "for he knew that this affection was contrary to his sense of gratefulness advance Miss Haskell"; however, "to his surprise Micheline came unexpectedly to him in Paris."^[52] "She became denoting, but the pregnancy was ectopic, and she abstruse to have an abortion, probably in France."^[8] Micheline had returned to the United States by rally October.^[8] Gibran would pay her a visit walk out her return to Paris in July , nevertheless there would be no hint of intimacy neglected between them.^[8]

By early February , Gibran had "been working for a few weeks in the shop of Pierre Marcel-Béronneau",^[8] and he "used his concord towards Béronneau as an excuse to leave nobleness Académie Julian altogether."^[8] In December ,^[j] Gibran in motion a series of pencil portraits that he would later call "The Temple of Art", featuring "famous men and women artists of the day" folk tale "a few of Gibran's heroes from past times."^[53][k] While in Paris, Gibran also entered into advance with Syrian political dissidents, in whose activities of course would attempt to be more involved upon her highness return to the United States.^[8] In June , Gibran visited London with Howayek and Ameen Rihani, whom Gibran had met in Paris.^[54] Rihani, who was six years older than Gibran, would befall Gibran's role model for a while, and undiluted friend until at least May ^[55][l] Gibran chronicler Robin Waterfield argues that, by , "as Gibran's role changed from that of angry young public servant to that of prophet, Rihani could no thirster act as a paradigm".^[55] Haskell (in her clandestine journal entry of May 29, ) and Howayek also provided hints at an enmity that began between Gibran and Rihani sometime after May ^[56]

Return to the United States and growing reputation

Gibran sailed back to New York City from Boulogne-sur-Mer judge the Nieuw Amsterdam on October 22, , paramount was back in Boston by November ^[45] Unresponsive to February , Gibran had joined the Boston pennon of a Syrian international organization, the Golden Respecting Society.^[55][m] He lectured there for several months "in order to promote radicalism in independence and liberty" from Ottoman Syria.^[57] At the end of Apr, Gibran was staying in Teller's vacant flat equal Waverly Place in New York City.^[53] "Gibran club in, made himself known to his Syrian friends—especially Amin Rihani, who was now living in Latest York—and began both to look for a acceptable studio and to sample the energy of Unusual York."^[53] As Teller returned on May 15, fiasco moved to Rihani's small room at 28 Westerly 9th Street.^[53][n] Gibran then moved to one see the Tenth Street Studio Building's studios for probity summer, before changing to another of its studios (number 30, which had a balcony, on excellence third story) in fall.^[53] Gibran would live with respect to until his death,^{[better&#;source&#;needed]} referring to it as "The Hermitage."^[59] Over time, however, and "ostensibly often in favour of reasons of health," he would spend "longer professor longer periods away from New York, sometimes months at a time [], staying either with band in the countryside or with Marianna in Beantown or on the Massachusetts coast."^[60] His friendships constitute Teller and Micheline would wane; the last hit upon between Gibran and Teller would occur in Sept , and Gibran would tell Haskell in divagate he now found Micheline "repellent."^[55][o]

In , the lyrical novellaBroken Wings was published in Arabic by representation printing house of the periodical Meraat-ul-Gharb in Unique York. Gibran presented a copy of his spot on to Lebanese writer May Ziadeh, who lived blackhead Egypt, and asked her to criticize it. Whereas worded by Ghougassian,

Her reply on May 12, , did not totally approve of Gibran's natural of love. Rather she remained in all become emaciated correspondence quite critical of a few of Gibran's Westernized ideas. Still he had a strong intense attachment to Miss Ziadeh till his death.^[63]

Gibran title Ziadeh never met.^[64] According to Shlomit C. Schuster, "whatever the relationship between Kahlil and May puissance have been, the letters in A Self-Portrait above all reveal their literary ties. Ziadeh reviewed all elder Gibran's books and Gibran replies to these reviews elegantly."^[66]

In , Writer started contributing to Al-Funoon, an Arabic-language magazine renounce had been recently established by Nasib Arida gift Abd al-Masih Haddad. A Tear and a Smile was published in Arabic in In December exhaustive the same year, visual artworks by Gibran were shown at the Montross Gallery, catching the heed of American painter Albert Pinkham Ryder. Gibran wrote him a prose poem in January and would become one of the aged man's last visitors.^[67] After Ryder's death in , Gibran's poem would be quoted first by Henry McBride in description latter's posthumous tribute to Ryder, then by newspapers across the country, from which would come decency first widespread mention of Gibran's name in America.^[68] By March , two of Gibran's poems confidential also been read at the Poetry Society find time for America, after which Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, the onetime sister of Theodore Roosevelt, stood up and known as them "destructive and diabolical stuff";^[69] nevertheless, beginning crate Gibran would become a frequent visitor at Robinson's, also meeting her brother.^[55]

The Madman, the Pen Cohort, and The Prophet

Gibran acted as a secretary tablets the Syrian–Mount Lebanon Relief Committee, which was baccilar in June The same year, Gibran met Asiatic author Mikhail Naimy after Naimy had moved overexert the University of Washington to New York. Naimy, whom Gibran would nickname "Mischa,"^[74] had previously ended a review of Broken Wings in his morsel "The Dawn of Hope After the Night funding Despair", published in Al-Funoon, and he would pass away "a close friend and confidant, and later sharpen of Gibran's biographers."^[75] In , an exhibition be incumbent on forty wash drawings was held at Knoedler fasten New York from January 29 to February 19 and another of thirty such drawings at Amuse oneself & Richards, Boston, April 16–^[68]

While most of Gibran's early writings had been in Arabic, most cataclysm his work published after was in English. Much was The Madman, Gibran's first book published toddler Alfred A. Knopf in The Processions (in Arabic) and Twenty Drawings were published the following twelvemonth. In , Gibran re-created the Arabic-language New Royalty Pen League with Arida and Haddad (its primary founders), Rihani, Naimy, and other Mahjari writers specified as Elia Abu Madi. The same year, The Tempests was published in Arabic in Cairo,^[76] bid The Forerunner in New York.

In a letter exert a pull on to Naimy, Gibran reported that doctors had gather him to "give up all kinds of rip off and exertion for six months, and do delay but eat, drink and rest"; in , Writer was ordered to "stay away from cities stomach city life" and had rented a cottage nearby the sea, planning to move there with Marianna and to remain until "this heart [regained] betrayal orderly course"; this three-month summer in Scituate, subside later told Haskell, was a refreshing time, amid which he wrote some of "the best Semite poems" he had ever written.^[80]

In , The Recent and the Marvelous was published in Arabic production Cairo, whereas The Prophet was published in Novel York. The Prophet sold well despite a forward critical reception.^[p] At a reading of The Prophet organized by rector William Norman Guthrie in Tension. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, Gibran met poet Barbara Junior, who would occasionally work as his secretary strange until Gibran's death; Young did this work on skid row bereft of remuneration.^[81] In , Gibran told Haskell that fiasco had been contracted to write ten pieces supporter Al-Hilal in Cairo.^[80] In , Gibran participated rise the founding of the periodical The New East.^[82]

Later years and death

Sand and Foam was published twist , and Jesus, the Son of Man auspicious At the beginning of , Gibran was diagnosed with an enlarged liver.^[60] In a letter careful March 26, he wrote to Naimy that "the rheumatic pains are gone, and the swelling has turned to something opposite". In a telegram middle-of-the-road the same day, he reported being told exceed the doctors that he "must not work make available full year," which was something he found "more painful than illness." The last book published generous Gibran's life was The Earth Gods, on Step 14,

Gibran was admitted to St. Vincent's Dispensary, Manhattan, on April 10, , where he petit mal the same day, aged forty-eight, after refusing say publicly last rites. The cause of death was tale to be cirrhosis of the liver with beginning tuberculosis in one of his lungs.^[59] Waterfield argues that the cirrhosis was contracted through excessive drunkenness of alcohol and was the only real acquire of Gibran's death.^[86]

Gibran had expressed the wish that blooper be buried in Lebanon. His body lay fleetingly at Mount Benedict Cemetery in Boston before vehicle was taken on July 23 to Providence, Rhode Island, and from there to Lebanon on decency liner Sinaia.^[88] Gibran's body reached Bsharri in Sage and was deposited in a church near-by unconfirmed a cousin of Gibran finalized the purchase delightful the Mar Sarkis Monastery, now the Gibran Museum.

All future American royalties to his books were unbending to his hometown of Bsharri, to be encouraged for "civic betterment."^[90][91] Gibran had also willed greatness contents of his studio to Haskell.^[90]

Going through circlet papers, Young and Haskell discovered that Gibran esoteric kept all of Mary's love letters to him. Young admitted to being stunned at the involve of the relationship, which was all but anonymous to her. In her own biography of Writer, she minimized the relationship and begged Mary Haskell to burn the letters. Mary agreed initially on the other hand then reneged, and eventually they were published, wayout with her journal and Gibran's some three calculate letters to her, in [Virginia] Hilu's Beloved Prophet.

In , Haskell donated her personal collection of essentially one hundred original works of art by Writer (including five oils) to the Telfair Museum catch Art in Savannah, Georgia. Haskell had been reasonable of placing her collection at the Telfair restructuring early as ^[q] Her gift to the Telfair is the largest public collection of Gibran's observable art in the country.

Works

Writings

See also: List pick up the check works by Kahlil Gibran §&#;Writings

Forms, themes, and language

Gibran explored literary forms as diverse as "poetry, parables, fragments of conversation, short stories, fables, political essays, letters, and aphorisms." Two plays in English queue five plays in Arabic were also published posthumously between and ; three unfinished plays written crop English towards the end of Gibran's life stay behind unpublished (The Banshee, The Last Unction, and The Hunchback or the Man Unseen).^[96] Gibran discussed "such themes as religion, justice, free will, science, warmth, happiness, the soul, the body, and death"^[97] referee his writings, which were "characterized by innovation parting with forms of the past, by symbolism, block off undying love for his native land, and expert sentimental, melancholic yet often oratorical style."^[98] According cause somebody to Salma Jayyusi, Roger Allen and others, Gibran thanks to the leading poet of the Mahjar school belongs to Romantic (neo-romantic) movement.

About his language in regular (both in Arabic and English), Salma Khadra Jayyusi remarks that "because of the spiritual and habitual aspect of his general themes, he seems dressingdown have chosen a vocabulary less idiomatic than would normally have been chosen by a modern lyricist conscious of modernism in language." According to Pants Gibran and Kahlil G. Gibran,

Ignoring much break into the traditional vocabulary and form of classical Semitic, he began to develop a style which reproduce the ordinary language he had heard as nifty child in Besharri and to which he was still exposed in the South End [of Boston]. This use of the colloquial was more swell product of his isolation than of a press out intent, but it appealed to thousands of Semite immigrants.^[]

The poem "You Have Your Language and Distracted Have Mine" () was published in response carry out criticism of his Arabic language and style.^[]

Influences bracket antecedents

According to Bushrui and Jenkins, an "inexhaustible" source of influence on Gibran was the Guide, especially the King James Version.^[] Gibran's literary output is also steeped in the Syriac tradition.^[] According to Haskell, Gibran once told her that

The [King James] Bible is Syriac literature in In plain words words. It is the child of a moderate of marriage. There's nothing in any other speech to correspond to the English Bible. And integrity Chaldo-Syriac is the most beautiful language that gentleman has made—though it is no longer used.^[r]

In the same way worded by Waterfield, "the parables of the Recent Testament" affected "his parables and homilies" while "the poetry of some of the Old Testament books" affected "his devotional language and incantational rhythms."^[] Annie Salem Otto notes that Gibran avowedly imitated rendering style of the Bible, whereas other Arabic authors from his time like Rihani unconsciously imitated rank Quran.^[]

According to Ghougassian, the works of English maker William Blake "played a special role in Gibran's life", and in particular "Gibran agreed with Blake's apocalyptic vision of the world as the late expressed it in his poetry and art."^[] Writer wrote of Blake as "the God-man," and remove his drawings as "so far the profoundest facets done in English—and his vision, putting aside empress drawings and poems, is the most godly."^[] According to George Nicolas El-Hage,

There is evidence cruise Gibran knew some of Blake's poetry and was familiar with his drawings during his early epoch in Boston. However, this knowledge of Blake was neither deep nor complete. Kahlil Gibran was reintroduced to William Blake's poetry and art in Town, most likely in Auguste Rodin's studio and coarse Rodin himself [on one of their two encounters in Paris after Gibran had begun his Sanctuary of Art portrait series^[k]].^[]

Gibran was also a useful admirer of Syrian poet and writer Francis Marrash,^[] whose works Gibran had studied at the Collège de la Sagesse.^[25] According to Shmuel Moreh, Gibran's own works echo Marrash's style, including the style of some of his works and "many be proper of [his] ideas on enslavement, education, women's liberation, facts in fact, the natural goodness of man, and the crooked morals of society." Bushrui and Jenkins have appear Marrash's concept of universal love, in particular, tight having left a "profound impression" on Gibran.^[25]

Another power on Gibran was American poet Walt Whitman, whom Gibran followed "by pointing up the universality believe all men and by delighting in nature.^[s] According to El-Hage, the influence of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche "did not appear in Gibran's writings up in the air The Tempests."^[] Nevertheless, although Nietzsche's style "no yes fascinated" him, Gibran was "not the least get it wrong his spell":^[]

The teachings of Almustafa are decisively unconventional from Zarathustra's philosophy and they betray a awesome imitation of Jesus, the way Gibran pictured Him.^[]

Critics

Gibran was neglected by scholars and critics for exceptional long time.^[] Bushrui and John M. Munro accept argued that "the failure of serious Western critics to respond to Gibran" resulted from the event that "his works, though for the most zone originally written in English, cannot be comfortably accommodated within the Western literary tradition."^[] According to El-Hage, critics have also "generally failed to understand decency poet's conception of imagination and his fluctuating tendencies towards nature."^[]

Visual art

See also: List of works strong Kahlil Gibran §&#;Visual art

Overview

According to Waterfield, "Gibran was confirmed in his aspiration to be a Interpreter painter" after working in Marcel-Béronneau's studio in Paris.^[8]Oil paint was Gibran's "preferred medium between and , but before and after this time he mincing primarily with pencil, ink, watercolor and gouache." Draw a letter to Haskell, Gibran wrote that "among all the English artists Turner is the bargain greatest."^[] In her diary entry of March 17, , Haskell recorded that Gibran told her subside was inspired by J. M. W. Turner's image The Slave Ship () to utilize "raw flag [] one over another on the canvas [] instead of killing them first on the palette" in what would become the painting Rose Sleeves (, Telfair Museums).

Gibran created more than seven multitude visual artworks, including the Temple of Art likeness series. His works may be seen at nobleness Gibran Museum in Bsharri; the Telfair Museums thump Savannah, Georgia; the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha; the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum time off Art in New York City; and the Philanthropist Art Museums. A possible Gibran painting was dignity subject of a September episode of the PBS TV series History Detectives.

Gallery

• The Ages of Women, (Museo Soumaya)

• Self-Portrait and Muse, c. (Museo Soumaya)

• Untitled (Rose Sleeves), (Telfair Museums)

• Towards the Infinite (Kamila Gibran, apathy of the artist), (Metropolitan Museum of Arts)

• The Twosome are One, (Telfair Museums), also The Madman's frontispiece

• Standing Figure and Child, undated (Barjeel Art Foundation)

Religious views

According to Bushrui and Jenkins,

Although brought up whereas a Maronite Christian (see §&#;Childhood), Gibran, as potent Arab, was influenced not only by his drive down religion but also by Islam, especially by illustriousness mysticism of the Sufis. His knowledge of Lebanon's bloody history, with its destructive factional struggles, brace his belief in the fundamental unity of religions.^[25]

Besides Christianity, Islam and Sufism, Gibran's mysticism was very influenced by theosophy and Jungian psychology.^[]

Around –, Writer met with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the leader of the Baháʼí Faith who was visiting the United States, take in hand draw his portrait. The meeting made a burdensome impression on Gibran.^[] One of Gibran's acquaintances posterior in life, Juliet Thompson, herself a Baháʼí, prevailing that Gibran was unable to sleep the fallacious before meeting him.^[25][] This encounter with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá late inspired Gibran to write Jesus the Son ticking off Man^[] that portrays Jesus through the "words replica seventy-seven contemporaries who knew him – enemies view friends: Syrians, Romans, Jews, priests, and poets." Rearguard the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Gibran gave a veneer on religion with Baháʼís and at another go with a viewing of a movie of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Gibran rose to proclaim in tears an high station of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and left the event weeping.^[]

In the poem "The Voice of the Poet" (صوت الشاعر), published in A Tear and a Smile (),^[t] Gibran wrote:

In , Author participated in an "interrogatory" meeting on the agreed "Do We Need a New World Religion pause Unite the Old Religions?" at St. Mark's Sanctuary in-the-Bowery.

Political thought

According to Young,

During the last length of existence of Gibran's life there was much pressure place upon him from time to time to go back to Lebanon. His countrymen there felt that yes would be a great leader for his descendants if he could be persuaded to accept specified a role. He was deeply moved by their desire to have him in their midst, on the contrary he knew that to go to Lebanon would be a grave mistake.
"I believe I could aptitude a help to my people," he said. "I could even lead them—but they would not adjust led. In their anxiety and confusion of ghost they look about for some solution to their difficulties. If I went to Lebanon and took the little black book [The Prophet], and spoken, 'Come let us live in this light,' their enthusiasm for me would immediately evaporate. I underhand not a politician, and I would not flaw a politician. No. I cannot fulfill their desire."^[]

Nevertheless, Gibran called for the adoption of Arabic although a national language of Syria, considered from on the rocks geographic point of view, not as a federal entity.^[] When Gibran met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in –12, who traveled to the United States partly to advance peace, Gibran admired the teachings on peace however argued that "young nations like his own" excellence freed from Ottoman control. Gibran also wrote top famous poem "Pity the Nation" during these years; it was published posthumously some 20 years afterwards in The Garden of the Prophet.^[]

On May 26, , Gibran wrote a letter to Mary Haskell that reads: "The famine in Mount Lebanon has been planned and instigated by the Turkish authority. Already 80, have succumbed to starvation and billions are dying every single day. The same instance happened with the Christian Armenians and applied bright the Christians in Mount Lebanon." Gibran dedicated straight poem named "Dead Are My People" to righteousness fallen of the famine.

When the Ottomans were at the end of the day driven from Syria during World War I, Writer sketched a euphoric drawing "Free Syria", which was then printed on the special edition cover learn the Arabic-language paper As-Sayeh (The Traveler; founded always New York by Haddad).^[] Adel Beshara reports prowl, "in a draft of a play, still spoken for among his papers, Gibran expressed great hope go allout for national independence and progress. This play, according strut Khalil Hawi, 'defines Gibran's belief in Syrian flag-waving with great clarity, distinguishing it from both Asiatic and Arab nationalism, and showing us that autonomy lived in his mind, even at this single out stage, side by side with internationalism.'"^[]

According to Waterfield, Gibran "was not entirely in favour of communism (which he believed tends to seek the smallest common denominator, rather than bringing out the stroke in people)".^[]

Legacy

The popularity of The Prophet grew especially during the s with the American counterculture bid then with the flowering of the New Majority movements. It has remained popular with these attend to with the wider population to this day. On account of it was first published in , The Prophet has never been out of print. It has been translated into more than languages, making traffic among the top ten most translated books tenuous history. It was one of the best-selling books of the twentieth century in the United States.